AirAsia flight QZ8501: Indian recce aircraft, warships on standby

Indian Navy sources said one ship in Bay of Bengal and another two in Andaman Sea have been put on standby.

Hours after AirAsia flight QZ8501 was lost over the Java Sea Sunday, the Indian Navy kept on standby a reconnaissance aircraft and three warships to assist Indonesia in search and rescue (SAR) operations.

Sources said a Boeing P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft of the Navy’s Eastern Command was kept on standby at INS Rajali at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu besides three warships.

#AirAsia Indian Navy keeps P8i maritime reconnaissance aircraft at INS Rajali; three ships on standby for search and rescue @IndianExpress

— Pranav Kulkarni (@PranavKulkarni) December 28, 2014

“These assets are ready in all respects for deployment s should there be orders from the government to join the search for the missing airliner,” Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said.

Officials said two warships are at Port Blair and a third in Chennai. The ships have been readied for long haul deployment — stocked with necessary equipment, stores — in case a request is received from the Indonesian government for search and rescue operations.

Officials said the flow of action normally follows a request to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) which then approaches the Ministry of Defence for help.

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