- By Lisa Lambert
- BBC News, Washington DC
Image source, Getty Images
Relations between Canada and India have grown increasingly strained in recent years
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stranded in India after his plane experienced technical difficulties.
The Canadian military is working to bring Mr Trudeau home but his earliest possible departure is Tuesday afternoon, his office said.
Mr Trudeau was set to leave on Sunday, following a tense meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit.
The flight situation “remains fluid”, his office said.
In a statement sent to the BBC, Canada’s Department of National Defence confirmed that the first aircraft – a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CC-150 Polaris with the tail number ’01’ – suffered a “maintenance problem” stemming from a “component that will have to be replaced”.
“The safety of all passengers is critical to the RCAF and pre-flight safety checks are a regular part of all our flight protocols,” the statement added. “The discovery of this issue is evidence that these protocols are effective”.
A replacement aircraft dispatched to India to retrieve Mr Trudeau was reportedly diverted to the UK, and is expected to depart from there on Tuesday.
While the defence department’s statement confirmed a second aircraft had been dispatched to bring Mr Trudeau home, it did not comment on the location of the aircraft or on expected timelines for his…
