At least six people were injured after a Myanmar military aircraft skidded off the runway at the Lengpui Airport in Mizoram on Tuesday, reported India Today.
A total of 14 people were on the plane along with the pilot. Visuals shared on social media showed that due to the impact of the accident, the fuselage, which is the main body section of an aircraft, split in half.
The accident occurred during a mission to airlift Myanmar Army personnel who had taken refuge in the Lawngtlai district after their camps were captured by a Myanmarese insurgent group seeking an independent Rakhine state, according to NDTV.
On January 17, 276 Myanmarese personnel entered the Bandukbanga village, located at the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh trijunction, with arms and ammunition and approached the Assam Rifles, reported PTI.
They had fled after their camps were captured by the Arakan Army fighters.
The militia is fighting the military junta that came back to power following a coup in February 2021. Since October, the militia has launched an expanding offensive and captured areas along the border with Mizoram.
Officials had said that the Myanmarese personnel would be repatriated at the earliest. They were brought to Aizawl on Saturday and Sunday.
On Monday, 184 of them were sent back to Myanmar. The remaining 92 were to be repatriated on Tuesday.
So far, 635 Myanmar soldiers have fled to Mizoram after pro-democracy armed groups attacked their camps.
In November, 104 personnel were sent to the border town of Moreh in Manipur from different areas of Mizoram by the Indian Air Force and then repatriated.
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