Nicaragua: A charter plane carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, landed in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am, the official said. It had taken off from Vatry airport near Paris around 2.30 pm local time. According to the sources, most of the passengers belonged to Punjab and Gujarat. When India TV tried to talk with the passengers, some of them who wore scarfs in order to hide their identity, declined to speak.
Meanwhile, the authorities allowed some of them to travel further after the probe agencies verified the documents.
According to French authorities, the plane had 276 passengers on board when it took off for Mumbai, as 25 persons, including two minors, had expressed the wish to apply for asylum and were still on French soil.
Two others were held and produced before a judge, who were brought before a judge, were released and placed on assisted witness status, a French news channel said. When the flight landed in Vatry airport, there were 11 unaccompanied minors among the 303 Indian passengers on board, a local official had said.
French authorities provide adequate facilities at airport
Makeshift beds were arranged for the stranded passengers, who were given access to toilets and showers and provided meals and hot drinks in the hall of Vatry airport, the official had said.
The flight, which was operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines and bound for Nicaragua, had landed at Vatry on Thursday for a technical stopover en route from Dubai when French police intervened.
French authorities launched a judicial investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip, with a unit specialising in organised crime investigating suspected human trafficking.
Record number of Indians seek asylum
Nicaragua has become a popular destination for those seeking asylum in the US. As many as 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in the financial year 2023, signalling a 51.61 per cent jump from the previous year, according to data made available by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
At least 41,770 of those Indians attempted to enter the US via the Mexican land border, CBP data shows. Flights to Nicaragua or third countries where obtaining travel documents is easy have come to be known as 'dunki' flights.
(With inputs from agency)
