Aizawl: A Myanmar military aircraft skidded off the runway at Mizoram's Lengpui Airport today during a mission to airlift Myanmar army personnel who had sought refuge in the northeastern state following intense clashes with rebel groups in their country. At least eight on board were injured in the incident.
The tabletop runway at Lengpui, 2,500 metres in length and located at a height of 1,228 feet above sea level, is known for its challenging nature. During landing, the Myanmarese aircraft, a Shaanxi Y-8, skidded off the runway and its fuselage split in half.
India on Monday sent home at least 184 Myanmarese soldiers. An official statement from the Assam Rifles confirmed that a total of 276 Myanmarese soldiers had entered Mizoram last week, and on Monday, 184 of them were sent back to Myanmar.
The soldiers entered Bandukbanga village at the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh trijunction in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district on January 17, and approached the Assam Rifles for assistance.
Their camp had been overrun and captured by fighters belonging to the 'Arakan Army,' a Myanmarese insurgent group fighting for an independent Rakhine State, prompting them to flee to Mizoram.
The Myanmarese soldiers were taken to the Assam Rifles camp at Parva, and later relocated to Lunglei for supervision. The repatriation process commenced with the group being flown on Myanmar Air Force planes from Lengpui airport near Aizawl to Sittwe in Myanmar's Rakhine State.
An Assam Rifles official said that the remaining 92 soldiers will be repatriated today. The entire group is headed by a colonel and comprises 36 officers and 240 lower-rank personnel.