Plane sent for US-bound Air India passengers diverted to Russia, airline says

A plane has been sent to retrieve passengers from a U.S.-bound Air India flight diverted to Russia after engine problems, the airline reported.

The flight, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew, diverted to Magadan in Siberia after taking off from New Delhi bound for San Francisco, Air India said in a statement to McClatchy News.

The plane “developed a technical issue with one of its engines” on the Tuesday, June 6, trip and had to land, the airline said.

Passengers are being housed in “makeshift accommodations” after efforts to place them in hotels were stymied by “infrastructural limitations around the remote airport,” Air India said.

A flight from Mumbai carrying food and other essentials has departed to ferry the passengers to San Francisco, the airline said.

Passenger Girvaan Singh Kahma, 16, told the Associated Press that the travelers are barred from leaving their Magadan hostel and can’t use their credit cards because of sanctions placed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

“The first day and a half was really hard for all of us,” he said, adding that Russian authorities have treated passengers well. “The weather went to 3 to 4 degrees (Celsius) in the morning, and in the night it was bitter cold.”

Magadan is a town on the northeast coast of Siberia.

This story was originally published June 7, 2023 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Plane sent for US-bound Air India passengers diverted to Russia, airline says."