Zeenews Bureau
Kolkata: The China-bound cargo plane of UAE's Air Force finally took off from Kolkata airport on Thursday after being detained here for four days for carrying arms and ammunition.
The External Affairs Ministry on Wednesday had cleared the plane to leave India after it was detained since Sunday evening. The flight originated from UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
The Ministry gave green signal to the Ministry of Defence and Customs authorities, allowing the C-130 Hercules plane to leave the NSC Bose International Airport, official sources said.
The Indian government gave the clearance after it was told by UAE authorities that its pilot had committed a "technical error" over declaring the on-board arms and ammunition for which they expressed regret.
Earlier, an External Affairs Ministry statement said that the matter will be resolved in the spirit of the close and friendly ties between India and the UAE and that "we will facilitate early release of the aircraft."
The statement said 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."
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had also said that in view of the "friendly relations" India had with the UAE he was in consultation with other departments of the
government and take a call.
First Published: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 11:52