The French authorities allowed a Nicaragua-bound flight carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, to resume its journey today (December 25), local media reported. The flight was detained at aiport near Paris three days ago over suspicions of 'human trafficking'.
The destination of the flight is still unknown. It could travel to India, where the passengers are from, to Nicaragua, its original destination, or to Dubai, from where it took off, the French media reported. Some of the passengers spoke Hindi and others Tamil and are believed to have contacted their families by telephone, according to the French media. Ten of the passengers have requested asylum, the newspaper quoted a source close to the case as saying.
After authorising the A340 aircraft, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, to leave, the French judges chose to cancel the hearings of the over 300 passengers due to irregularities in the procedure, BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network, reported.
Four French judges earlier in the day began questioning the passengers detained by the French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected 'human trafficking'. The hearings were conducted as part of the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor's office on suspicion of human trafficking.
Who owns the aircraft?
The aircraft is owned by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines. A lawyer for the firm, Liliana Bakayoko, denied any involvement in the trafficking. A 'partner' company that chartered the plane was responsible for verifying the identity documents of each passenger, and communicated the passengers' passport information to the airline 48 hours before the flight, Bakayoko said. Meanwhile, human trafficking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France.
Indian embassy helps passengers stuck at airport
On Saturday, India's embassy in France said its staff are stationed at the airport near Paris to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals after the passengers were detained by French authorities over suspected "human trafficking". In an updated message on social media on Saturday evening, the embassy thanked the French authorities for working over the long Christmas holiday weekend in pursuit of an “early resolution” of the situation.
According to the reports, the travel may have been planned by the Indian passengers to reach Central America from where they can attempt to enter the United States or Canada illegally. But an anonymous tip indicated that passengers were “likely to be victims of human trafficking” in an organised gang, alerted the authorities.
What had happened?
French authorities grounded a Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340 aircraft carrying 303 Indian passengers, which departed from Dubai and landed at the small Vatry airport on Thursday (December 21) afternoon for a technical stopover when the police intervened, according to Marne prefect's office. The plane is operated by the Romanian company Legend Airlines. According to French media, the plane had been due to refuel and was carrying 303 Indian nationals who had probably been working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
(With inputs from agencies)
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