The plane, which was detained in France for four days due to suspicion of human trafficking, reached Mumbai early Tuesday carrying 276 passengers. This information was given by an officer. There were mostly Indian citizens on board this plane. The official said that the Airbus A340 plane reached Mumbai shortly after 4 am. The plane took off from Vatri airport at around 2.30 am local time. According to French authorities, the plane which took off for Mumbai had 276 passengers on board and 25 people, including two minors, have applied for asylum in France and are currently in France.
A French news channel reported that two other passengers were presented before a judge and given assisted witness status. A local official has said that when the plane landed at Vatri Airport, there were 303 Indian citizens on board, out of which 11 were unaccompanied minors. The official had said that temporary beds were arranged for the passengers on board the grounded aircraft, they were given facilities to use toilet and take bath and they were provided food and hot drinks on the Vatri airport premises. .
The flight from Dubai to Nicaragua, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, was stopped at Vatri airport for a technical stop on Thursday when French police intervened. French authorities opened a judicial investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip and a unit specializing in the investigation of organized crime conducted an investigation on suspicion of human trafficking. Nicaragua has become a popular destination for asylum seekers in the United States. According to data provided by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in FY 2023 and this number is 51.61 percent more than the previous year.