Last rites of Kerala soldier, who died in 1968 crash, to be held on Friday

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 3 : The funeral of Thomas Cherian, a Malayali soldier who died in a plane crash 56 years ago, will be held on Friday.

An army official said that Cherain’s mortal remains will be taken home from Ilanturchanta Junction with a military escort while the third order of the funeral service will be held at the house under the patronage of Metropolitan Kuriakos Mar Clemis.

In 1968, Cherian joined the Indian Army at the age of 22 and after finishing his training, was asked to join his posting at Leh. However, the ill-fated Indian Air Force Antonov-12 aircraft went missing on February 7, 1968, while on a flight from Chandigarh to Leh which was carrying 102 personnel, including IAF officers, soldiers, and civilians.

After encountering severe weather conditions near Rohtang Pass, the aircraft lost contact and vanished in the harsh, snowbound terrain.

For decades, the wreckage remained hidden until 2003 when mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering stumbled upon parts of the plane, igniting a series of recovery missions.

However, by 2019, after several expeditions only five bodies had been retrieved.

Last week, the remains of Cherain were discovered by a joint team comprising personnel from the Dogra Scouts of the Indian Army and the Tiranga Mountain Rescue as part of the ongoing Chandrabhaga mountain expedition.

Had Cherian been alive today, he would have been 78 years old. His parents passed several years back.

Goa Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai has also visited the house of Cherain and spent some time with his family.

“The Governor told us that he was asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit our home,” Cherian’s sister Mary told IANS.