The Indian Air Force says it has lost contact with a transport plane with 29 people on board over the Bay of Bengal.
The Antonov-32 took off from Chennai (Madras) in southern India at 8.30am local time and was scheduled to land in the coastal city of Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, at 11.30am.
The last radar contact with the plane, which was carrying service personnel and six crew members, was at 8.46am, according to AirLive.net.
The flight was supposed to last three hours but there was no contact for nearly three hours beyond its arrival time.
Nitin Wakanker, a spokesman for India's defense ministry, said the Russian-made aircraft could go for four hours without refueling.
A massive search by the air force, navy and coast guard has been launched.
