Air India to send plane to Russia to rescue US-bound passengers

Air India is set to send a replacement plane to ferry stranded passengers from a US-bound flight after its plane made an emergency landing in Russia.

The Delhi-San Francisco flight had 216 passengers and 16 crew members on board when one of its engines developed a snag on Tuesday.

The plane was forced to land at Magadan airport in the Far East region of Russia.

The details of the snag have not been revealed yet.

On Wednesday, Air India said in a statement that it would operate a flight at 13:00 India time (07:30GMT) to ferry passengers and crew from Russia to San Francisco “subject to necessary regulatory clearances”.

“The ferry flight would be carrying food and other essentials for our passengers,” the statement said.

It added that due to “infrastructural limitations” around the airport, all passengers had been moved to a “makeshift accommodation”, after efforts were made to shift them to local hotels.

“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, Indian ministry of external affairs, local ground handlers and Russian authorities,” the statement said.

On Wednesday morning, a Twitter user shared a video which he said was taken by one of the passengers. The footage shows passengers sleeping on mattresses on the floor, several in a single room, with their belongings next to them.

People commenting on the video criticised Air India’s service and asked why the passengers had not been given better facilities.

On Tuesday, the airline had issued a statement that the flight had made a “safe landing” in Russia after it had been diverted.

“Air India flight A1173 operating from Delhi to San Francisco developed a technical issue in one of its engines,” it said and added that the “aircraft is undergoing the mandatory checks on the ground.”

The United States said that it was keeping an eye on the situation.

“We are continuing to monitor that situation closely,” Vedant Patel, State Department Deputy Spokesperson, told reporters.

He added that “it was likely that there were US citizens on board the flight”, but said that he was “unable to confirm” their numbers.

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