Myanmar military plane skids off runway on airport in India’s Mizoram, eight injured

At least eightof the 14 people on board a Myanmar military aircraft have been injured after it skidded off the runway in the northeast Indian state Mizoram’s Lengpui Airport on Tuesday (Jan 23). The aircraft, as per media reports, had been sent to airlift Myanmar military personnel who had sought refuge in the northeastern state following intense clashes with rebel groups in their country.

What do we know about the incident?

A Myanmarese aircraft, Shaanxi Y-8, skidded off the runway at the Lengpui airport, which is known for being a challenging airport to land at. Subsequently, the plane’s fuselage split in half.

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"While landing, the aircraft overshot the runway and went into the bushes. This led to damage to the aircraft. The aircraft was carrying 14 crew members, 8 of them have been injured," said Mizoram’s Director General of Police (DGP)Anil Shukla, as quoted by ANI.

The incident occurred at around 10:30 am (local time), said the Indian official, adding that "operations at the airport have been suspended."

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The crash comes a day after India sent back 184 military personnel from the Myanmar Army who had fled to Mizoram amid gunfights with an ethnic rebel group on the country’s borders.

Myanmarese soldiers fled to India

The reports were later confirmed by India’s Assam Rifles whose officials said around 276 Myanmarese soldiers had entered the northeastern state last week.

The soldiers were flown from the Lengpui airport in Myanmar’s Air Force planes, according to media reports. The remaining 92 soldiers were meant to be repatriated on Tuesday.

The soldiers reportedly entered Bandukbanga village in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district on January 17 at the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh trijunction.

Subsequently, they approached the Assam Rifles for assistance.

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The military personnel had been under the supervision of the Assam Rifles since then. The soldiers from Myanmar’s military had fled to Mizoram after their camp was overrun and captured by ‘Arakan Army’ fighters.

In November, more than 100 Myanmarese soldiers were sent to the Indian border town of Moreh in the state of Manipur from different places in Mizoram by Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters and then repatriated.

Barbed fencing on Indo-Myanmar border

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (Jan 20) announced that the government will fence India’s border with Myanmar.

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“Indo-Myanmar border is to be fenced like the Indo-Bangladesh border. The Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided to fence the Indo-Myanmar border to curb the influx of illegal migrants and insurgents,” said Shah while addressing the passing out parade ceremony of Assam Police Commandos.

He added, “We are also thinking of ending the free-movement facility with Myanmar.”

The announcement by the Indian government comes amid fierce fighting between the Myanmar Army and pro-democracy rebels, which has led to an alarmingly high number of displaced Myanmarese people.

(With inputs from agencies)