In northeast India, a border fence could cut through villages, houses and lives

LONGWA, India (AP) — To the people who live there, Longwa is a typical hilltop village. The most imposing structure is a corrugated tin roof belonging to the Angh, a hereditary tribal chief.

But recently, residents have been worried about another, less visible, local landmark: the border between India and Myanmar, which runs right through the village's center.

National boundaries never mattered before to the local Konyak tribe. “I eat in Myanmar and sleep in India,” says Tonyei Phawang, the Angh, whose house sits on the border.

The Indian government is now seeking to stop border crossings for the first time, revoking a system that made it legal for Indigenous people to cross freely and threatening to build a border fence that could cut villages like Longwa in two.

On a Thursday in December, Longwa's marketplace was bustling with shoppers from the Myanmar side, motorbikes loaded with as much salt, flour, biscuits, clothes, milk, tea, soap as they could carry. The nearest town with a market on the other side of the border is Lahe, a full day’s drive away.

Locals have long come and gone to shop, study or seek medical care, with no sign that they're crossing an international border except a border marker sitting on a hilltop in the village. The Angh and village council members say their forefathers had no idea that the concrete pillar was meant to divide them when it was built in the early 1970s.

“At that time we had no idea this is India or Myanmar. It was a free land. There was nobody who understood English or Hindi. They understood nothing,” Phawang says.

Like dozens of other Indigenous Naga tribes, the Konyak’s land straddles the mountains that divide India and Myanmar. Naga villages are usually built on hilltops for security, something that wasn't considered when the British East India Company drew the border in an agreement with the then-Kingdom of Burma.

The Constitution of India does not allow dual citizenship, but people in Longwa see themselves as belonging to both countries.

“I am from both India and Burma,” Phawang said, using another name for the country officially known as Myanmar. “I vote in the Burmese election. And when the Indian election comes I vote there too.”

Phawang is chief of six Konyak villages in India and more than 30 in Myanmar, whose residents pay allegiance with a yearly feast as they have for some 10 generations.

The reach of the Indian state was very limited in these borderlands until recently. People here often have documents from both governments, said Khriezo Yhome, a senior fellow and editor at Asian Confluence, a think tank working to create an understanding of eastern South Asian. “However, there was practically no way for the state to do anything to check it.”

Until recently, residents from both sides could travel legally within 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) of the border, but that started to change in February 2024, when the government revoked the Free Movement Regime “to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s North Eastern states bordering Myanmar.”

Change has come slowly in Longwa: it took almost a year before soldiers stationed in the village began checking documents, and Longwa residents still move freely after their shifts end in the early afternoon. But people from other villages in Myanmar are afraid to travel beyond Longwa to reach schools or medical care, said B. Phohi Konyak, a former local leader of an organization representing Konyak women.

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said the government has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1,643-kilometer (1,021-mile) long Indo-Myanmar border.

If it follows the legal border, it would have to cut through dozens of houses. Of the 990 buildings in the village, 170 lie on the boundary line — including a government school, the church and an army camp.

Wangron Konyak, 23, drove five hours on his motorcycle from the village of Momkho to pick up his sister as school closed for vacation. “If we are not allowed to come this side then we will suffer a lot. For those studying in Myanmar school it will be alright, but people like my sister who study in India will be very affected.”

Residents and state officials are rejecting the changes.

The Nagaland state government passed a resolution opposing the end of the Free Movement Regime and plans for border fencing, and on Feb. 3 Longwa residents staged a protest carrying placards with slogans like “Respect Indigenous rights, not colonial legacy!”

Yhome, the expert, said that an effort to stop locals from crossing the border could violate the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, which seeks to protect the integrity of border-straddling communities.

“For us there is no Burma Longwa or India Longwa," Yanlang, a 45-year-old village council member. "How can one village and one family be divided?” asked

Wangron Konyak, 23, from Momkho village I Myanmar, prepares to start his bike in Longwa village, on the India Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Konyak Naga women carry baskets filled with firewoods on their backs and walk past a concrete structure marking the India-Myanmar border at Longwa village, in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Indian Army soldiers stand near a community building at Longwa village on the India-Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)

An elderly Kenyan Naga carries a basket filled with her belongings in the India-border village of Longwa, in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A Konyak Naga sits outside his grocery store at Longwa village, on the India-Myanmar border in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

B. Phohi Konyak stands near the border pillar erected on a hill top at Longwa village, on the India Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Children sit and talk in front of a roadside side shop at Longwa village, on the India-Myanmar border in the far northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A woman carries a child and climbs steps at Longwa village, on the India Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Dirt tracks are seen in the Myanmar side of the border, from the border pillar erected on a hilltop at Longwa village, on the India-Myanmar border, in the far eastern state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A motorcycle of a villager from Myanmar laded with goods is parked at the corner of a dirt road at Longwa village, in the India-Myanmar border in the far eastern state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Konyak Naga women carry baskets filled with firewood at Longwa village, on the India-Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)

Children play by a traditional log drum in the house of the Angh, or chief, at Longwa village on the India-Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)

A sign post pointing to a school in the Myanmar side of Longwa village, at the India Myanmar border village in the far eastern state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Nanhtike Thu, 30, from Mandalay, who teaches at the Myanmar government school in Longwa, right, speaks with her student Ngapkhao Konyak, 14, from Longwa village, at the school premise in Longwa, at the India Myanmar border in the far eastern Indian state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A Konyak Naga carries a child at Longwa village on the India-Myanmar border in the northeastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)

Villagers from Myanmar shop for clothes at Longwa village, that lies both in India and Myanmar, in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Villagers from Myanmar walk with their goods after shopping at Longwa village, that lies both in India and Myanmar, in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Family members of the Angh, or tribal chief Tonyei Phawang sit and talk in the kitchen at Longwa village in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Friday, Dec.13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Tonyei Phawang, the Angh, or chief, sits in the entrance of his house which is divided between Myanmar and India at Longwa village in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Tonyei Phawang, the Angh, or chief, walks in his house which is divided between Myanmar and India at Longwa village in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Tourists take photos with Tonyei Phawang, the Angh, or chief, inside his house which is divided between Myanmar and India at Longwa village in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Tonyei Phawang, the Angh, or chief, stands outside his house which is divided between Myanmar and India at Longwa village in the far eastern India state of Nagaland, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A bird's eye view of a corrugated tin roof house, center in red, of the Angh, or tribal chief, which lies both in Myanmar and India, as seen from Longwa village, India, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A bird's eye view of a corrugated tin roof house, center in red, of the Angh, or tribal chief, which lies both in Myanmar and India, as seen from Longwa village, India, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

The risk of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday.

Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and confirm temperatures were falling, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said Monday morning.

Covey said the results of overnight evaluation of the tank — that the temperature inside had dropped and that pressure had been released — was “incredibly positive news.”

However, evacuation orders remained in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove, California, located south of Los Angeles.

Covey said falling temperatures and the release of pressure from the tank were allowing officials to “turn the corner on this incident” after days of concern about a possible explosion.

There has been no chemical leak as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is “ongoing.”'

After the tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts.

The tank's interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg. On Monday, Covey said the temperature fell to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C).

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.

The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.

The first goal of firefighters was to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion.

Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes. Containment barriers were set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Covey said earlier.

As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who had said earlier that the crack could mean product or pressure is being released, reducing the chance of explosion.

“Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode,” Whelton said. “But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”

An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario, he said.

Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday, while several evacuation shelters were open. At a high school in neighboring La Palma, people slept in cars or on mats and sleeping bags on the asphalt.

Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the situation.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.

Whelton said if an explosion occurs, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.

Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and people may notice it over a large area without being harmed.

Some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which operates the facility where the tank is located. Lawyers for the residents argued that regardless of what happens, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.

GKN Aerospace did not comment on the lawsuit but has apologized to residents and businesses forced to evacuate. It said Sunday it was “working around the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak.”

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

Associated Press journalist Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California, contributed to this report.

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The streets remain empty in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after a storage tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday at an aerospace plastics facility. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Emergency personnel work at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Cypress, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)