NEW DELHI, India Air Foree helicopters mounted a search Sunday for a military transport plane carrying 23 people that disappeared during a flight over the foothills of the Himalayas.

The Soviet made AN-32 air force plane was reported missing shortly after takeoff Saturday from a base in the Ladakh region of northernmost Kashmir state, near the Chinese border, state authorities said. The plane, carrying 20 soldiers and a crew of three, was on a routine flight over the snowbound region, the Defense Ministry said.

Indian news agencies reported that the last message received at the air control tower at Jammu city was that the plane was facing rough weather, with little or no visibility.

United News of India said Sunday’s aerial search was also hampered by poor weather.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 28, 1986