Body of missing MiG-29k fighter pilot recovered after 11 days after crash: Indian Navy

New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The Indian Navy on Monday recovered the body of the missing MiG-29 pilot Commander Nishant Singh. His body, the Navy said, was recovered 11 days after the crash of his plan from 30 miles off Goa coast after an extensive search.

"Indian Navy has recovered the body of the missing MiG-29K pilot Commander Nishant Singh on the seabed 70 metres below water. It has been found 30 miles off Goa coast after extensive search. The aircraft had crashed on Nov 26 while operating over Arabian Sea," news agency ANI quoted Indian Navy officials as saying.

Commander Singh had gone missing on November 26 after his MiG-29K fighter aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea. While his partner was recovered the next day, the Navy was not able to find Singh. It later deployed several surfaces and air assets to find Commander Singh.

Meanwhile, a similar incident had happened in February this year when a MiG-29K aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed in Goa during a routine training sortie. Before that, a MiG-29K had also crashed outside a village in Goa in November last year during a training mission.

The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG). The Indian Navy had procured a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia over a decade back at a cost of around USD 2 billion to operate from INS Vikramaditya.

INS Vikramaditya was part of the second phase of the Malabar exercise involving navies of India, the US, Australia and Japan. The MIG-29K fleet on board the aircraft carrier was also involved in the mega naval drill that took place from November 17 to 20.

(With PTI inputs)