Lengpui (Mizoram): At least eight crew members on board a Myanmar Air Force aircraft, which came to airlift the remaining 92 Myanmar soldiers to their country from Mizoram, were injured after the plane skidded off the tarmac in Aizawl's Lengpui airport on Tuesday, officials said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an investigation into the crash, a state government official said.
There were 14 people on the plane and eight of them were injured in the accident, which happened around 10.20 am, while six are safe, officials said. While landing, it overshot the tabletop runway of the Mizoram government-run airport and crashed. The impact of the accident was such that the plane split into two, they said.
The injured individuals were rushed to Lengpui Hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Out of eight, three sustained critical injuries, officials said. Mizoram's Disaster Management officials, along with the district administration and the police, rushed to the Lengpui airport, 30 km from Aizawl city and rescued the injured crew of the Myanmar Air Force aircraft.
"All incoming flights have been diverted. When flight services, incoming and outgoing, will resume is yet to be known. Hoping all passengers would be able to either fly in or fly out as soon as possible, especially people with a medical emergency," the official said.
According to officials, as many as 184 of the 276 Myanmarese soldiers, who fled to Mizoram on January 17 after their camps, were captured by armed pro-democracy ethnic groups, were flown back home on a Myanmar military aircraft on Monday. “A Myanmar Air Force transport plane from Mandalay (Myanmar) landed at the Lengpui airport on Monday and evacuated 184 Myanmar soldiers to Sittwe (Akyab) in two sorties. Before the departure of the Myanmarese soldiers, the Indian authorities have completed all necessary formalities,” a senior official said.
The remaining 92 Myanmar soldiers were supposed to be airlifted on Tuesday. The 276 Myanmar Army personnel took refuge in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district on January 17 after their camps were captured by the Arakan Army militants. The Myanmar soldiers, with their arms and ammunition, reached Bandukbanga village, situated on the Mizoram-Myanmar-Bangladesh border tri-junction, in Lawngtlai and were taken to Assam Rifles' Parva camp in the district.
Necessary medical support was also provided to the soldiers, the official said. With the latest influx, the number of soldiers, who fled Myanmar since November 13 2023 and reached Mizoram, has reached 636. Earlier this month, 255 soldiers were sent back via the Lengpui airport by Myanmar Air Force planes. It may be noted that Mizoram shares a 510-km-long border with Myanmar. (With Agency Inputs)
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