INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
French authorities grounded a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indian passengers after receiving a tip that it
could be carrying victims of human trafficking, prosecutors said Friday.Special investigators are questioning all those aboard and two
anonymous tip signaled that the flight, operated by small Romania-based charter company Legend Airlines, was carrying people who could be
victims of human trafficking
It was grounded Thursday after it stopped for refueling at the Vatry Airport east of Paris, a small airfield in the middle of Champagne
country used primarily for charter and cargo flights.The passengers and crew are sequestered in the small Vatry airport, where they will
spend a second night Friday on camp cots while the investigation continues, according to an official with the Marne regional administration
They initially remained in the A340 plane, surrounded by police on the tarmac, but were then transferred into the main hall of the airport
to sleep Thursday night, the official said.Investigators from a specialized French organized crime unit, border police and aviation
gendarmes are working on the case.The Indian Embassy in France posted on X that embassy staff had obtained consular access to the passengers
The customer communicated the passenger information to the airline 48 hours before the flight, she said.Source: ABC News
