Plane Carrying 303 Mostly Indians Passengers, Allowed To leave After Three Days of Grounding In France
A Nicaragua-bound flight carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was permitted to resume its journey on Monday. The flight was grounded for three days by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected "human trafficking", according to local media reports on Sunday.
After the plane was authorised to leave, the French judges cancelled the hearings of more than 300 passengers citing irregularities in the procedure.
Four French judges began questioning the 303 passengers detained by 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.
According to the French media, some of the passengers spoke Hindi and others Tamil and are believed to have contacted their families by telephone. Ten passengers have requested asylum.
The plane includes 11 unaccompanied minors and two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended on Saturday evening for up to 48 hours, according to French prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Legend Airlines, the Romanian charter company which owns the aircraft denied any involvement in the trafficking.
Human trafficking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France.
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".
