Plane carrying 303 mainly Indian passengers is allowed to leave France after three days
A plane carrying mostly Indian passengers was grounded at an airport in France three days ago.
Paris: A flight bound for Nicaragua carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was allowed to resume its journey on Monday after French authorities grounded it for three days at an airport near Paris over suspected “human trafficking”, local media reports said on Sunday.
After allowing the plane to depart, French judges opted to cancel the hearings of the more than 300 passengers due to procedural irregularities, BFM TV, a French news television and radio network, reported.
Four French judges earlier in the day began questioning the 303 passengers detained by French authorities since Thursday at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, for suspected “human trafficking”.
The hearings took place as part of the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office on suspicion of human trafficking.
The plane is expected to take off again on Monday morning. Its destination is not yet known. The plane could travel to India, where the passengers are coming from, to Nicaragua, its original destination, or to Dubai, from where it took off, it added.
According to French media, some passengers spoke Hindi and others Tamil and were said to have contacted their families by telephone. Ten of the passengers have applied for asylum, the newspaper quotes a source close to the case.
According to French prosecutors, the plane is carrying 11 unaccompanied minors and two passengers who have been in custody since their detention was extended by up to 48 hours on Saturday evening.
The aircraft is owned by the Romanian charter company Legend Airlines. A lawyer for the firm, Liliana Bakayoko, denied any involvement in human trafficking.
A “partner” company that chartered the plane was responsible for verifying each passenger’s identity documents and provided the passengers’ passport details to the airline 48 hours before the flight, Bakayoko said.
In France, human trafficking carries a possible prison sentence of twenty years.
On Saturday, the Indian embassy in France said its staff has been stationed at the airport near Paris to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals after the passengers were detained by French authorities for suspected “human trafficking”.
In an updated social media post on Saturday evening, the embassy thanked French authorities for their efforts over the long Christmas holiday weekend to seek an “early resolution” of the situation.
According to the reports, the journey may have been planned by the Indian passengers to reach Central America, from where they could attempt to illegally enter the United States or Canada.
But an anonymous tip indicated that passengers were “likely victims of human trafficking” in an organized gang, authorities warned.
(Only the headline was reworked by India.com staff. Copy is from a syndicated feed)