The United States said Tuesday it was closely monitoring the situation after an Air India flight bound for San Francisco in Russia made an emergency landing.
Flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday due to engine failure, the Tata Group private airline said in a statement last night. The flight with 216 passengers and 16 crew members landed safely.
“We are aware of a flight to the US that made an emergency landing in Russia and are continuing to monitor the situation closely. I cannot confirm how many U.S. citizens were on board the flight at the time,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news briefing.
“It was a flight going to the United States. Therefore, it is of course likely that American citizens are on board. There are public reports from Air India that, as far as I know, they are sending a replacement aircraft there. “The goal is to let passengers continue on their route, but I would leave it up to the airline to talk about it further,” replied Patel on a question.
“Given the infrastructural limitations surrounding the remote airport, we can confirm that after making serious attempts to accommodate passengers in on-site hotels with the help of local government authorities, all passengers were eventually transferred to temporary accommodation,” the media statement said .
“Since we have no Air India staff stationed in the remote city of Magadan or in Russia, ground assistance to passengers in this unusual situation is best possible through our 24/7 connection with the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Government of India), local ground handlers and the Russian authorities,” the statement said.
Pending necessary regulatory approvals, a ferry flight is scheduled to operate from Mumbai, India (BOM) to GDX on June 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. IST, which would take passengers and crew of AI173 onward to San Francisco, the statement said .
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