Faulty plane leaves Greek President stranded in Vietnam

ATHENS (AFP) - Greek President Karolos Papoulias has been stranded in Vietnam after a four-day official visit as his plane developed a mechanical problem, flag carrier Olympic Airlines said Friday.
The fire detection sensor on one of the four engines of the Olympic Airbus gave a faulty reading on Thursday due to a short-circuit as the delegation prepared to return, a statement said. No reliable plane was found locally for hire so the company sent an Olympic Airlines Boeing 737 to Vietnam’s Da Nang airport with the necessary parts and technicians.
It was expected to arrive in Da Nang later on Friday and the fault should require up to five hours to fix, Olympic said.
Papoulias had just completed a visit to Vietnam during which he signed bilateral deals on renewable energy.
The Greek delegation also donated 100 wheelchairs and funds for Vietnamese children suffering from the after-effects of chemical agents employed in aerial US bombings during the Vietnam War. In Hanoi, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung confirmed that “due to technical problems with the aircraft, the delegation of the Greek President is now in Danang.”
“The Vietnamese side is very actively helping,” Dung said in a statement, adding that the host country had offered to supply the Greek delegation with a Vietnamese aircraft to take them home.