Debris from the Vietnamese coast guard aircraft that disappeared from radar while searching for the missing pilot of a crashed Russian-made fighter jet has been found off the country’s northern coastline.
Remains found from missing Vietnam coast guard plane (Video - Photos)
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The Spanish-made CASA-212 aircraft, carrying nine members of the search crew and captained by Colonel Le Kiem Toan, lost contact at around 12:30 pm on Thursday while flying 44 nautical miles southwest of Bach Long Vi Island off the northern city of Hai Phong.
According to Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper, multiple remains belonging to the plane, including fragments of the fuselage, wings and landing gear, were salvaged on Friday morning.
The debris was found about 13 to 15 nautical miles southwest of Bach Long Vi, VnExpress reported, adding that the ocean depths in the area reach between 60 and 70 meters.
Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard, was quoted by the newswire as saying that the accident happened due to bad weather conditions.
Meanwhile, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper source stated that the CASA plane crash happened while the aircraft was descending in order to approach objects the crew believed were the search targets.
The plane departed from the Gia Lam military airport in Hanoi at 9:30 am the same day to search for the Russian-made fighter jet Su30-MK2 and its missing pilot, Tran Quang Khai, after the warplane went down off the north-central province of Nghe An on Tuesday morning.
Khai was operating the warplane with his co-pilot, Nguyen Huu Cuong, who was rescued by a local fishing boat on Wednesday morning and safely brought ashore later the same day.
Following the crash of the CASA-212, the Ministry of National Defense dispatched rescue units to the location where it was last recorded on radar and notified local authorities and fishing boats to assist in the mission.
Rescue teams discovered several pieces of debris near the search location on Thursday evening which they believed belonged to the missing plane.
Three specialized rescue crafts have been dispatched to the sea area near the plane crash to look for the victims, Nguyen Anh Vu, general director of the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRRC), affirmed on Friday morning.
Chinese authorities have also sent a vessel to support the mission, upon the request of the MRRC, Vu added.
A total of 1,564 people have been partaking in the search and rescue mission since Friday morning, of whom 764 are soldiers and the others are local fishermen.
Hundreds of vessels, fishing boats, and aircraft have been deployed to search for the plane.
Specializing in lower latitude flights and sea patrols, the CASA-212 is a medium transport aircraft designed and built in Spain with the ability to carry out journeys up to seven hours long.
One of two Vietnamese pilots from a Russian-made fighter jet was safely brought ashore on Wednesday after his warplane crashed over the East Vietnam Sea.
Rescued Vietnamese pilot recounts crash of Russian-made fighter jet (Photos)
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Nguyen Huu Cuong, 39, a pilot specializing in the Vietnam People’s Air Force’s Russian-made aircraft Su-30MK2, was escorted back to the mainland in the north-central province of Nghe An at around 1:00 pm on Wednesday.
Cuong and his co-pilot, 43-year-old Tran Quang Khai, who is still missing, were performing offshore aerial exercises with the Su-30MK2 by Nghe An when they lost contact with their operators on Tuesday morning.
Cuong was discovered by a local fishing boat on Wednesday morning after hours of drifting at sea.
“I am fine. I only have a few scratches,” the pilot said as he was warmly welcomed and embraced by his family members after being rescued.
“As lucky as I am for being found, I am upset and concerned about the well-being of my missing co-pilot,” Cuong continued.
According to Nguyen Van Manh, Cuong’s older brother, he and other members of the family caught a bus from their hometown in the northern province of Bac Giang to Nghe An after hearing about the accident.
“Once they informed me Cuong was safe, I felt as if I had been brought back to life,” Yen, the pilot’s wife, said.
Story of accident
Major Cuong had a brief conversation with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper via radio from the fishing ship of Pham Van Le, the captain who rescued him, as he was waiting for a rescue craft to bring him back ashore.
According to Cuong, he and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Khai started their mission at the Sao Vang airfield in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa before encountering trouble while approaching Mat Islet off Nghe An.
A small explosion was heard by the pilot, which indicated an emergency situation, resulting in Cuong and Khai ejecting from the plane.
“We decided to parachute. Khai ejected a few minutes before I did,” Cuong recounted.
The two pilots were about three kilometers apart during the descent and six kilometers apart after landing in the ocean, Cuong said.
Le said he discovered Cuong while fishing off Nghe An when he heard a voice calling for help at around 4:00 in the morning.
“We realized he was a pilot after rescuing him. We then took care of and fed him,” the fisherman recalled.
Full forces searching for missing pilot
Dinh Viet Hong, vice-chairman of the Nghe An People’s Committee and chief of the rescue committee, affirmed on Wednesday afternoon that he was coordinating with the Ministry of National Defense to look for Khai.
A total of 50 fishing boats in the locality were requested to assist in the mission, each carrying one border guard officer and a soldier, Hong stated.
At 10:00 pm the same day, the pilot was still missing, according to Colonel General Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.
