Mizoram: 8 Injured As Myanmar Army Plane Crashes In Aizawl's Lengpui Airport

At least eight people were injured when a plane belonging to the Myanmar Army crashed in Mizoram's capital Aizawl.

The injured being rescued from the crashed aircraft.

Source : ANI

Eight people were injured after a Myanmar Army plane crashed at Lengpui airport in Mizoram's Aizawl. As many as 14 people were on board with the pilot, reported news agency ANI. The injured were admitted to a Lengpui hospital, said Mizoram DGP.

The incident occurred at 10.30 AM when the plane landed at the airport and then skidded off the runway before reaching the terminal. The plane had come to take soldiers, who had escaped from Lawngtlai amid the clashes between the Myanmar Army and civilians, back to Myanmar. 

Over 150 Myanmar soldiers sought refuge in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district after their camps were seized by an armed ethnic group within Myanmar as the clashes intensified between the Myanmar army and Arakan Army fighters near the Indian border.

Mizoram DGP Anil Shukla said: "Today at 10.30 AM, a plane from the Government of Myanmar came to Lengpui airport to take back the surrendered Myanmarese personnel. 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. The injured were taken to the Lengpui Hospital and later, they were shifted to the Civil Hospital. They have received minor injuries, none of them are serious. At the moment, the operations at the airport have been suspended..."

#WATCH | Mizoram DGP Anil Shukla says "Today at 10:30 am, a plane from Govt of Myanmar came to Lengpui airport to take back the surrendered Myanmarese personnel. While landing, the aircraft overshot the runway and went into the bushes. This led to damage to the aircraft. The… https://t.co/PiYgdan4gz pic.twitter.com/dfABs6fPt8

— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2024

The Myanmarese army, also known as the 'Tatmadaw,' fled with their weapons and sought assistance from the Assam Rifles at Tuisentlang in Lawngtlai district on Friday after their camps along the international border were overtaken by Arakan Army fighters.

Some of the Myanmarese soldiers who entered Mizoram on Friday were critically injured, and they received immediate first aid from the Assam Rifles. The soldiers are currently under the secure supervision of the Assam Rifles at Parva in Lawngtlai district, near the Myanmar border.

In November 2023, 104 soldiers from Myanmar sought refuge in Mizoram after the pro-democracy militia, the People's Defence Force (PDF), overran military camps. The Indian Air Force airlifted those soldiers to Manipur's Moreh, from where they crossed the international border and entered Tamu, the nearest border town in Myanmar.

Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Centre will stop the free movement of people along the India-Myanmar border. Barbed fencing would be put up along the border areas, just like along the border with Bangladesh, to stop free movement, Amit Shah said.