US team in India to hunt for WWII 'Hump' missing

NEW DELHI (AFP) - A US defence department team has arrived in India to prepare a search for the remains of hundreds of American personnel who went missing over the Himalayan "Hump" during World War II, diplomats and officials said.

The team, from the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC), will fly to the northeast frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh for a "site survey" ahead of the search once monsoon rains stop in October.

"It's still very early on in the process, and currently JPAC is meeting with the Indian government and the operations will happen only in October," said Henry Jardine, US consul-general in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. "Right now we are in preliminary stages of discussions," Jardine told AFP. "We are hoping the operations can start after the monsoon and more information will be put out after the mission starts in October."