The remains of the bodies of all the 13 people, including seven IAF personnel, aboard the ill-fated AN32 aircraft that crashed in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, were brought to the IAF base at Jorhat in Upper Assam on Thursday.

IAF Eastern Command spokesman at Shillong, Wing Commander Ranjib Sahoo, said, “A MI-17 with mortal remains of the aircrew and passengers has arrived at Jorhat for conduct of the last rites with full military honours.”

Earlier in the day, West Kameng Deputy Commissioner Amjad Tak said over the telephone from Aalo that while the Army rescue party had collected the remains of the bodies and airlifted them to Aalo, they could not fly till late afternoon because of inclement weather.

“The bodies have been torn to pieces due to the impact of the mishap,” he said, adding that the identities of the bodies could not be ascertained yet.

The Indian Air Force had on Wednesday confirmed the death of all the 13 people on board the aircraft which went missing minutes after it took off from the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Mechuka in West Kameng district on Tuesday.

The aircraft, which was on an air maintenance sortie for troops close to the India-China border, had seven IAF personnel, while six Army personnel had boarded it at Mechuka.

Tak said the “very bad” weather in the area since Monday, may have caused the mishap. Sahoo said the cause of the crash could be ascertained after the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the black box are recovered.