Air India passengers stranded in Russia's Magadan forced to sleep on school floor
Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Jun, 2023 01:50 PM
New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) A video footage has surfaced on Twitter showing stranded Air India passengers forced to sleep on the floor of a school after their San Francisco-bound flight was diverted to Magadan in Russia due to a techincal snag.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the alternate flight was dispatched for the Magadan airport from Mumbai around 1 p.m. and it will take six hours to reach there.
"Once the flight reaches, the passengers will be flown to their destination which is San Francisco," he said.
Earlier, on Tuesday Air India flight AI173, from Delhi to San Francisco, was forced to divert and make an emergency landing at Magadan airport in Russia due to a technical issue with one of its engines, officials said.
The Air India spokesperson said that the ferry flight is carrying food and other essentials for our passengers.
"All of us at Air India are concerned about the passengers and staff and are making every effort possible to operate the ferry flight as soon as possible, and to ensure the health, safety, and security of all while they wait," said the airline in a statement issued on Wednesday.
"As we do not have any Air India staff based in the remote town of Magadan or in Russia, all ground support being provided to the passengers is the best possible in this unusual circumstance through our round the clock liaison with the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok, Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India), local ground handlers, and the Russian authorities," it added.
The police have arrested six persons in this connection, out of whom two are residents of Liluah in Howrah district, two are from Maharashtra and one from Gujarat. The police suspect that besides running the fake call centre, the arrested persons were also involved in illegal hawala transactions.
A forensic science lab team also reached the spot and inspected the suitcase and the spot where the body was found. The hands and the feet of the victim were tied with a rope, a police officer said, not ruling out the possibility of foul play in the case.
The officials said that some dreaded criminals were lodged in the same ward, adding that Sisodia has not raised any complaint in food or other things so far. Sisodia, who was arrested on February 26 in the Delhi excise policy case, was lodged in the cell on Monday after due formalities which included some medical tests.
Special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad argued the charges against Poonawala. It was submitted that the accused is a trained chef from Taj Hotel and is aware of preserving the flesh. Poonawala had also ordered dry ice, agarbatti etc. after killing Shraddha Walker, the police said.
Carrying placards, father Balkaur Singh and mother Charan Kaur told the media it has been almost a year of the crime occurrence and the main culprits have not been arrested.They demanded that the case should be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as crucial witnesses "are being eliminated and nothing is going in their favour."
The accused were identified as Mohd. Danish (33) and Danish alias Raja (30), both residents of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. Police have also recovered five high end luxury cars and SUVs from the possession of the accused.
