Military cargo plane crashes in India's Assam state

A Russian-made Antonov An-32 military cargo plane crashed while landing at Jorhat in Assam state, India, the Indian Air Force confirmed on Monday. According to a report by AFP, the air force stated that the aircraft "met with an accident today while landing at Jorhat." No details of casualties were provided, and the number of people on board at the time of the crash was not disclosed.

The air force announced that a court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident. News channel NDTV broadcast images of the crash site, showing a thick black plume of smoke and the aircraft apparently broken into pieces.

The An-32 is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft specially designed to perform well at high altitudes and in extreme climates. The Indian Air Force operates about 100 of these planes for military supplies and civilian aid in the country's remotest mountain areas.

The last major crash involving the An-32 occurred in 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh state, near the border with China, when 13 people were killed. According to Mehr News, the report by AFP added that the investigation is ongoing.