Decades-Long Mystery Solved: Plane Crash Victims' Families Find Closure

In a 56-year mystery, the bodies of victims from a 1968 Indian Air Force plane crash in the Himalayas have finally been recovered. Families, who waited decades for closure, find unexpected relief as recent expeditions identified and returned their loved ones.

A phone call from Pathanamthitta police station in Kerala brought unexpected news to the Thomas family; the body of Thomas Cherian, missing since a 1968 plane crash, had been found. Cherian, among 102 passengers on an Indian Air Force aircraft, disappeared after the plane crashed in the Himalayas during severe weather. Initially a mystery, mountaineers found the first body in 2003, with subsequent discoveries over the years. In 2019, the wreckage was found, and recently Cherian's body was among four recovered near the Dhaka glacier. The recovery was a joint effort by the Dogra Scouts and Tiranga Mountain Rescue, aided by satellite imagery, Recco radar, and drones. Cherian's family, finally able to grieve, held a funeral service. Although the pain of loss endures, they appreciate the army's continued search efforts. Other families, like that of Narayan Singh, share in the complex emotions of relief and loss as they receive the remains of their loved ones. Despite decades of unanswered questions, the discovery brings a measure of peace to those who have waited so long for closure.