More than nine months after a MiG-29 crashed in the mountainous Lahaul-Spiti area of Himachal Pradesh, the IAF has found some body parts, believed to be of its pilot, in glaciers.
The IAF search team consisting of rock climbers, mountaineers and Ladakh Scouts found a foot thumb, a backbone, believed to be of pilot Squadron Leader D S Tomar, and wreckage of the downed MiG from the melting glaciers, official sources said on Tuesday.
The body parts would be sent for a DNA test and forensic examination to ascertain whether they are of the missing pilot, they said. IAF's MiG-29 had crashed after hitting a glacier at a height of 16000 ft in Chokhang Mountain ranges in tribal Lahaul and Spiti on October 18, 2011.
The team is continuing search operations to find the 'black box' to establish the exact time and cause of the crash.
The recovered body parts and wreckage would be flown to Delhi, and Western Air Command has been requested to send a helicopter to the base camp Thirot.