Thousands of people turned up in Elanthur in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district on Friday, October 4 to pay homage to Thomas Cherian, a Malayali soldier who died in a plane crash 56 years ago. Cherian went missing in 1968 when he was 22; his remains were discovered by the Indian Army last week. Those who paid their last respects included ministers, politicians of all parties, and former defence officers.

The entire funeral arrangements, barring the religious rites, were controlled by the Madras Regiment, which had on Thursday collected the body from the air force base in the state’s capital of Thiruvananthapuram after it arrived from Chandigarh on a special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight.

At 6.30 am on Friday, the body was transported in an Army vehicle and routed to his residence. On the way, several people lined up on either side of the road and at certain places, the local police station had also made arrangements to bid Cherian a final goodbye.

In Elanthur, the body was received by his siblings and taken to his brother’s residence. At the house, prayers were held and from there the body was taken to the St George Orthodox Church, Cherian’s home parish.

After customary prayers led by Metropolitan Kuriakose Mar Clemis and numerous priests from various churches, the Army gave a final guard of honour.

In 1968, Cherian was asked to join his posting at Leh after finishing his Army training. However, the ill-fated Indian Air Force Antonov An-12 aircraft in which he was travelling from Chandigarh to Leh went missing on February 7, 1968. After encountering severe weather conditions near Rohtang Pass, the aircraft lost contact and vanished in the harsh, snowbound terrain. It was carrying 102 people, including IAF officers, soldiers, and civilians.

For decades, the wreckage remained hidden until mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering stumbled upon parts of the plane in 2003, igniting a series of recovery missions. However, by 2019, after several expeditions, only five bodies had been retrieved.

Last week, Cherian’s remains 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 Chandra Bhaga mountain expedition.

Had Cherian been alive today, he would have been 78. His parents passed away several years ago, mourning the loss of their young son.