Twelve people were injured on Tuesday, four of them seriously, when a Burmese military plane seeking refuge in India veered off the runway while landing, the Indian Airports Authority (AAI) learned.
The Chinese-made plane, a Shaanxi Y-8, left the tarmac shortly before noon in an accident at Lengpui, the main airport in the Indian state of Mizoram, which borders Burma.
Footage of the accident broadcast by local television channels showed the bent fuselage of the transport plane sinking into tall grass after sliding down an embankment.
The plane had come to pick up 92 Burmese soldiers who had taken refuge in India in mid-January to escape the advance of armed insurgents fighting the ruling junta, said an AAI source who was not authorized to speak to AFP , told the press who requested anonymity.
This is the last contingent of 276 soldiers who fled rebel pressure.
Of the 12 injured, “four are in serious condition,” this source said.
The accident was caused by a “sudden engine failure” of the plane while landing at the airport, Myanmar's junta said in a statement.
She said eight injured crew members were receiving medical treatment, without giving further details.
Clashes have erupted in parts of Myanmar near the Indian border since Arakan Army (AA) rebels attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had prevailed since the military coup in 2021.
This month the group said it had taken control of the major city of Paletwa and six military bases along the Mizoram border.
The Myanmar Air Force has suffered a number of fatal accidents over the past decade.
Twelve people died in 2021 when a military plane crashed shortly before landing in Pyin Oo Lwin (center).
The insurgency, which is mobilizing various groups across Burma, has dealt several setbacks to the regular army, which seized power in a coup in 2021.