NEW DELHI: India on Friday mounted a massive search and rescue operation for an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane that went missing with 29 people on board over the Bay of Bengal. With concern mounting hours after its disappearance, five surveillance jets and 13 navy and coastguard ships launched the search for the aircraft, which vanished shortly after take-off from Tambaram Air Force Station on the outskirts of Chennai. The aircraft was on its way to Port Blair, the capital of the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands. The Russian-built Antonov AN-32 military plane was carrying service personnel and six crewmembers as it undertook a routine courier service to the Indian islands. The last contact with the plane was made around 15 minutes after take-off, an IAF spokesman said.