GUWAHATI: Twelve people were wounded Tuesday when a Myanmar military jet overshot a runway while landing in India to collect soldiers who had fled armed insurgents fighting their country’s junta.
The Chinese-made Shaanxi Y-8 turboprop skidded off the tarmac shortly before midday at Lengpui, the main airport of Mizoram state in India.
An Airport Authority of India official said that the flight was collecting ninety-two soldiers who had crossed into India from neighbouring Myanmar last week, AFP reported.
Of the twelve wounded, 4 are stated to be serious, added the official.
Myanmar’s junta said in a statement that the crash was caused by “sudden engine failure” while landing at the airport.
It said that 8 crew members were wounded and receiving medical treatment, without providing details.
The flight was supposed to return the final contingent of 276 Myanmar soldiers who had crossed into India last week to escape an advance by armed insurgents.
Clashes have rocked areas of Myanmar near the Indian border since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November 2023, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a 2021 military coup.
But this month the group said it had seized the major town of Paletwa and 6 military bases along the border of Mizoram.
Myanmar’s air force witnesses fatal crashes
Myanmar’s air force has witnessed a number of fatal crashes over the past decade.
12 people were killed in 2021 when a Myanmar military jet crashed shortly before it was due to land in the central town of Pyin Oo Lwin.
