Four Bodies Found 56 Years After IAF Plane Crash Over Rohtang La

Fifty-six years after an Indian Air Force AN-12 transport plane carrying 102 personnel, including four crew members, crashed in the rugged, snow-covered mountains near Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh, mountaineering teams led by the army’s Dogra Scouts have recovered the bodies of four personnel from the Dhaka glacier area at a height of almost 16,000 feet near the Chandrabhaga range 13 (CB 13) peak, near Batal, in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal., army officials informed.

While confirming the recovery of four bodies, Lahaul and Spiti Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayank Chaudhary stated, “We have received the information, and the police and medical team will depart from Kaza right now. After the post-mortem, the bodies will be returned to their families.”

The tragedy occurred on February 7, 1968, when an IAF AN-12 aircraft carrying 102 passengers disappeared after taking off from Chandigarh and encountering severe weather near the Rohtang Pass. For decades, the wreckage and bodies of the victims were lost in the icy terrain.

Later, in 2003, an expedition from the ABV Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali discovered the plane’s wreckage in the south Dhaka glacier. The mountaineers also discovered the remains of a body, which was later identified as that of Sepoy Beli Ram, an army man on the flight.

It also sparked several expeditions by the Indian Army, particularly the Dogra Scouts, who led search missions in 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2019. Despite the treacherous conditions and harsh terrain, only five bodies were recovered by 2019.

However, the Chandrabhaga Mountain Expedition has recovered four more bodies, giving the families of the deceased and the nation new hope.