ANKARA 

An Air India plane flying from Delhi to San Francisco with 216 passengers aboard landed in Russia due to a "technical issue," the airline said on Wednesday.

"AI173 operating Delhi-San Francisco on 06 June 2023 had developed a technical issue en route with one of its engines. The flight with 216 passengers and 16 crew was diverted to Magadan, Russia (GDX), where it had safely landed," Air India said in a statement.

It also said given the "infrastructural limitations" around the remote airport, all passengers were eventually "moved to a makeshift accommodation, after making sincere attempts to accommodate passengers in hotels locally with the help of local government authorities."

The airline said as there is no Air India staff based in the remote town of Magadan or in Russia, all ground support is being provided to the passengers is the best possible in this "unusual circumstance."

A ferry flight is scheduled to fly from India's Mumbai airport to Russia's Magadan airport on Wednesday to carry passengers and crew to San Francisco, it added.

"The ferry flight would be carrying food and other essentials for our passengers. All of us at Air India are concerned about the passengers and staff and are making every effort possible to operate the ferry flight as soon as possible, and to ensure the health, safety, and security of all," the airline said.

Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesman, said during a media briefing that they were aware of the US-bound flight that had to make an "emergency landing" in Russia and US continues to monitor the situation closely.

"I'm not able to confirm how many US citizens were aboard the flight at this time. Of course, … it was a flight that was bound for the United States. So, it is, of course, likely that there are American citizens on board," he said.