Plane grounded in France with 300 Indians: Airport makeshift base, crew quizzed
France Grounds Plane: The flight, which was operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines, landed at Vatry for a technical stopover en route from Dubai.
Over 300 Indians who were on board a plane grounded in France on suspicion of human trafficking were being cared for in the hall of an airport in Marne while an investigation was ongoing, a local official said as per news agency Reuters. Complete coverage of France grounding plane here
Marne emergency services installed makeshift beds for the 303 stranded passengers as they were given access to toilets and showers and provided meals and hot drinks at Vatry airport, officials informed. Officials from the Indian general consulate were visiting them regularly, it added.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), the Indian Embassy in France said, "Continue to work with French Gov for the welfare of the Indians currently at the Varty airport, 150 km East of Paris, & for early resolution of the situation. Embassy consular staff stationed there. Thank French authorities for working on this through the long holiday weekend."
Why was the plane grounded by France
The flight, which was operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines, landed at Vatry for a technical stopover en route from Dubai. Then, French police intervened and grounded the plane following which a judicial investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip had been launched. A unit specialising in organised crime were investigating suspected human trafficking, AFP reported. Authorities had been tipped off by an anonymous informant about the flight.
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What do we know so far about the flight
AFP reported that the passengers on the grounded plane, which was bound for Nicaragua, included 13 unaccompanied minors. Two people were held for questioning. Legend Airlines said that the plane's crew had been released after questioning.
"The members of the crew have been questioned, the questioning has ended and they are all free to move. None has been put in custody," it said. The flight was chartered by a "trusted" client, it informed, adding that it was a non-European company which the airline did not want to name.
