Detained UAE aircraft takes off from Kolkata to China

Kolkata, Sep 10 (ANI): The China-bound cargo plane of United Arab Emirate's (UAE) Air Force which was carrying arms and ammunition, finally took off from the Netaji Subhas Chnadra Bose International Air port on Thursday morning.

The UAE aircraft was detained by the Indian Security agencies after it found carrying huge cache of arms and ammunition on board on Sunday.

The Union Government gave the clearance to aircraft to leave India, after the UAE authorities told it that pilot of the aircraft had committed a technical error over declaring the on-board arms and ammunition, and expressed the regret for the error.

The flight originated from UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

The C-130 Hercules plane was examined by the officials of the Defence Ministry and customs department.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna had said that in view of the close and friendly relations of India and the UAE the matter would be resolved in consultation with other departments of the government.

The External Affairs Ministry also issued a statement stating the matter will be resolved in the spirit of the close and friendly ties between both the countries and India will facilitate an early release of the aircraft.

The UAE authorities both in New Delhi and Abu Dhabi have since formally regretted the omission in clearly indicating items carried by the aircraft and have described it as a technical error, the statement added. (ANI)