“Myanmar Aircraft Overshoots Runway, Crash-Lands Into Bush at Mizoram Airport”

On Tuesday, a small military plane from Myanmar experienced a miraculous escape after overshooting the runway at the Lengpui airport near Aizawl and crash-landing into a bush. The aircraft was carrying 14 passengers, including the pilot, and had come to retrieve 92 Myanmarese soldiers who had crossed into India the previous week following clashes with an ethnic insurgent group.

Despite the severity of the incident, all 14 passengers managed to escape without major injuries. Eight of them sustained minor injuries and were promptly treated at a local health center. The Myanmar air force Y-8 cargo plane overshot the tabletop runway of the Mizoram government-run airport at around 10:20 am, ultimately crash-landing into a nearby bush, causing damage to the bottom of the fuselage.

The injured passengers were transported to the Lengpui primary health center for medical attention. As a precautionary measure, the airport’s runway has been temporarily closed, leading to the cancellation of all flights for the day. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated an investigation into the incident, aiming to determine the cause of the runway overshoot and crash.

A state government official stated that all flights had been canceled, expressing hope that normal operations would resume soon for passengers, particularly those with medical emergencies.

The background of the incident involves the arrival of 276 Myanmarese soldiers in Mizoram the previous week, with 184 soldiers sent back on Monday. The remaining 92 soldiers were scheduled for repatriation in batches, and the ill-fated plane was supposed to transport them to Sittwe in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

The Myanmarese soldiers had sought refuge in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district after fleeing their camp, which had been overrun and captured by fighters from the ‘Arakan Army.’ The soldiers, armed with weapons, entered Bandukbanga village on January 17 and approached the Assam Rifles for assistance. The complexities of the situation underscore the delicate nature of border conflicts and the challenges involved in managing the movement of armed personnel across international boundaries.

Author: suman jha