New Delhi: A Nicaragua-bound charter flight carrying over 300 Indian passengers was grounded in France over suspected “human trafficking”, news agency AFP quoted officials as saying. According to Paris public prosecutor's office, the flight, which had taken off from United Arab Emirates, was detained on Thursday as the passengers were "likely to be victims of human trafficking", the news agency reported.
A unit specialising in organised crime is probing the matter and two persons have been arrested for questioning, AFP reported.
The charter flight, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, landed at Vatry airport on technical ground when the police intervened. "The reception hall at Vatry airport was transformed into a waiting area with individual beds to provide passengers with the best possible reception conditions," the prefect's office of eastern Marne said, as reported by news agency Reuters.
Taking note of the incident, the Indian Embassy in France said it has obtained consular access and the matter is being investigated.
“French authorities informed us of a plane with 303 people, mostly Indian origin, from Dubai to Nicaragua detained on a technical halt at a French airport. Embassy team has reached & obtained consular access. We are investigating the situation, also ensuring wellbeing of passengers,” the embassy wrote.
According to reports, several people are in the airport which the police have sealed off. An investigation has also been launched into the purpose of the trip. Some of the passengers were believed to be illegal migrants, BBC reported.
The Indian passengers might have planned to go to Central America in a bid to enter the United States or Canada illegally, AFP quoted its sources as saying.