Kuwait: An Air India Express flight that was scheduled to fly from Kuwait International Airport to Mangaluru at 9 am (IST) on December 25 departed the airport at 3 pm (IST) on December 26, causing inconveniences to the passengers.

Passengers expressed anguish over the delay of more than 30 hours and asserted that they were ill-treated by the crew members at the airport.

One of the passengers, Mohammed Yusuf, who spoke to Vartha Bharati over a phone call, said there were about 150 passengers set to fly to Mangaluru on the flight who were inconvenienced by the delay.

“We arrived at the airport at 6 am on schedule and checked in. We were not informed about the delay in advance nor were we told about it when we arrived at the airport. We were later told the flight had not left for Kuwait from Mangaluru Airport itself while we were already waiting at the Kuwait Airport. This means the airline could’ve informed the passengers about the delay in advance.” Yusuf told Vartha Bharati.

Although the passengers were given a stay at the hotel after the completion of the immigration process, Yusuf said no one from the airline tried to approach them and give a clear picture on the situation.

“One of the passengers was going to attend his father’s funeral in Kerala. There were infants and newborns on the passengers' list, but the airline was least bothered about any of the inconveniences to the passengers.” He further added.

After a delay of more than 30 hours, the flight finally departed from Kuwait Airport on Monday at 3 pm (IST) and was expected to land at the Mangaluru International Airport at 7:30 pm.

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Bengaluru, Nov 18: A 52-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard near here, officials said on Monday.

Kariamma had gone to cut grass at an agricultural field near her home at Kambalu, Gollarahatti, in Nelamangala taluk in Bengaluru Rural district on Sunday evening when the incident happened, they said.

The field, where she was working, was adjacent to a forest which is frequented by leopards, and warnings were also issued to villagers in recent times to not venture into the vicinity. There were instances of leopard killing dogs and other strays, a senior forest officer said.

"The woman, who is into rearing cattle, went to the agricultural field to cut grass and was allegedly dragged by the leopard into the forest area where the big cat mauled her to death and consumed parts of her body from head to chest," he said.

When she did not return, her family members went searching for her and discovered her half-eaten body and reported it to the forest officials, he added.

A 30 member team of leopard task force, 30 staff and 10 officers of the forest department reached the site along with forensic experts to take samples of the hair, blood stains and footprints of the leopard in order to catch the big cat, the officer said.

"Twenty huge cages have also been installed in and around the area in an attempt to catch the leopard involved in the killing," he said.

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