Myanmar army plane skids off runway in Mizoram Airport, 8 injured

Sources said the plane, which came to take back its soldiers from Mizoram, crashed while landing at the airport. There were 14 persons on board including the crew.

Guwahati: A cargo plane belonging to Myanmar Air Force overshot the runway during landing at Lengpui airport in the outskirts of Mizoram capital Aizawl on Tuesday morning, in which eight persons were injured.

An official of Aizawl disaster management department told DH over phone that the plane (Y-8 Cargo), which came to take back its soldiers from Mizoram, veered off the runway during its landing at around 10.19am. At least 14 persons including the pilot were on board.  

"The plane is of a small size, 14 people were on board with the pilot, eight were injured and six are safe.The injured were rushed to Lengpui hospital," said the official. The official said the Director General of Civil Aviation instituted an inquiry into the mishap. Photographs shared by an official showed the plane lying in a jungle adjacent to the table top airport situated on the hills. A portion of the plane was seen damaged.   

Gunfight in Myanmar: At least 276 Myanmar army personnel fled to Mizoram and took shelter on January 17 after the rebels reportedly took over a military base in Southern Chin state following a gunfight. They entered Bandukbanga village in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, bordering Myanmar. The group including a colonel and 35 other officers had surrendered their weapons before Assam Rifles, the paramilitary force that guards the 510km border that Mizoram shares with Myanmar.

A plane of Myanmar Air Force on Monday took back 184 soldiers in two sorties from Lengpui airport. They came on Tuesday morning again to take back the remaining 92 soldiers, sources said.A total of 359 Myanmar army soldiers had earlier crossed the border and surrendered similarly following gunfights with the rebels. Myanmar military is engaged in fights with the rebels since it took over the elected government in 2021. More than 30,000 "refugees" have also taken shelter in Mizoram since February 2021.