GUWAHATI, India, Jan 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Twelve people were injured Tuesday

when a Myanmar military plane overshot a runway while landing in India to
collect soldiers who had fled armed insurgents fighting their country's
junta.

The Chinese-made Shaanxi Y-8 turboprop skidded off the tarmac shortly before
midday at Lengpui, the main airport of India's Mizoram state.

An Airport Authority of India (AAI) official at Lengpui told AFP that the
flight was collecting 92 soldiers who had crossed into India from
neighbouring Myanmar last week.

Of the 12 injured, "four are stated to be serious," added the official, who
requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media.

Footage of the crash's aftermath aired by local broadcasters showed the bent
fuselage of the transport plane, which had cut a swath through tall grass
after sliding down an embankment.

The flight was supposed to return the final contingent of 276 Myanmar troops
who had crossed into India last week to escape an advance by armed
insurgents.

Clashes have rocked parts of Myanmar near the Indian border since the Arakan
Army (AA) attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had
largely held since a 2021 military coup.

But this month the group said it had taken over the major town of Paletwa and
six military bases along the border of Mizoram.

Myanmar's air force has seen a number of fatal crashes over the past decade.

Twelve people were killed in 2021 when a Myanmar military plane crashed
shortly before it was due to land in the central town of Pyin Oo Lwin.