India sends back 184 Myanmar soldiers who fled to Mizoram
Aizawl (PTI): India sent back 184 Myanmarese soldiers to their own country after they fled to Mizoram last week following gunfights with an ethnic insurgent group, an official said on Tuesday.
A total of 276 Myanmarese soldiers had entered Mizoram last week, and of them, 184 were sent back on Monday, the Assam Rifles official said.
They were flown on Myanmar air force planes from the Lengpui airport near Aizawl to Sittwe in the neighbouring country's Rakhine state, she said.
The remaining 92 soldiers will be repatriated on Tuesday, she added.
The Myanmarese soldiers entered Bandukbanga village, located at the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh trijunction, in southernmost Mizoram's Lawngtlai district with arms and ammunition on 17 January and approached the Assam Rifles.
They fled to Mizoram after their camp was overrun and captured by 'Arakan Army' fighters.
The Myanmarese soldiers were taken to the nearby Assam Rifles camp at Parva, and later the majority of them were shifted to Lunglei, the official said.
They have been under the supervision of the Assam Rifles since then, the official said.
These 276 soldiers were brought to Aizawl over Saturday and Sunday, for their transport to Myanmar from the Lengpui airport.
The group is headed by a colonel, and has 36 officers and 240 lower-rank personnel, officials said.
With the 276 soldiers who entered last week, as many as 635 Myanmar soldiers have fled to Mizoram after their camps were overrun and captured by ethnic armed organisations and pro-democratic forces, officials said.
Of them, 359 soldiers have already been sent back to their country, they said.
In November, 104 Myanmar army personnel were sent to the border town of Moreh in Manipur from different places in Mizoram by Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters, and then repatriated. Earlier this month, 255 soldiers were sent back via the Lengpui airport by Myanmar air force planes.
Mizoram shares a 510-km-long border with Myanmar.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Engine issue forces SWISS Delhi flight to abort takeoff; six passengers injured
New Delhi (PTI): A Zurich-bound Swiss International Air Lines' flight carrying 232 passengers aborted take off at the Delhi airport early Sunday due to an engine issue, sources said.
Six passengers are undergoing medical evaluation, an airline spokesperson said without elaborating.
Smoke was observed from the port side of one of the landing gears of the A330 aircraft that was operating the flight LX147 to Zurich. The flight crew aborted the take off and full emergency response was initiated, the sources said.
In a detailed statement, an airline spokesperson said there were 228 passengers and four infants on board.
"Shortly after takeoff, just after 1:00 am. local time in India, an issue occurred with one of the engines. The crew rejected the takeoff and, following an assessment of the situation, decided as a precaution to evacuate the aircraft," the spokesperson said.
Six passengers were receiving medical attention, the spokesperson added.
"All passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft via the emergency slides.Six passengers are currently undergoing medical evaluation. For a small number of individuals who were unable to use the slides, stairs were provided," the spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, Swiss technical specialists will travel to Delhi to inspect the aircraft and initiate the next steps.
The airline is known as Swiss.
At the same time, the spokesperson said the airline was working intensively to find a swift and suitable onward travel solutions for all passengers.
