Russian pilot found 30 yrs after going missing in Afghanistan

Afghan guerrillas who fought Soviet forces, pictured in 1980. Pic/AP

A Russian pilot who was presumed dead after his plane was shot down three decades ago during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan has been found alive and wants to come home, Russian military veterans said Friday.

"He is still alive. It's very astonishing. Now he needs help," the head of the paratroopers' union Valery Vostrotin told RIA Novosti state news agency. Vostrotin declined to name the pilot for reasons of confidentiality.

The man was shot down in 1987 and is likely now to be over 60, the deputy head of veteran's organisation Battle Brotherhood, Vyacheslav Kalinin, said, adding that he now wants to come home. He suggested that the pilot could be in Pakistan, where Afghanistan had camps for prisoners of war.

1987
Year the pilot was shot down

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