A Naga rebel leader returns to his hometown in India's northeast after 5 decades, in photos

UKHRUL, India (AP) — A helicopter descended from the clear, blue sky Wednesday as thousands of people cheered the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, a top Naga insurgent leader, to his hometown in India’s northeastern Manipur state for the first time in five decades.

Men and women in traditional Naga attire carrying spears and wearing feathered headgear welcomed the 91-year-old Muivah in Manipur's Ukhrul district. Schoolchildren waved the Naga flag, which has a blue background with a rainbow across the center and a white star in the top left corner.

The Naga insurgency began in the 1950s as a fight for independence. Violence has waned since a 1997 ceasefire between India and Muivah’s group, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), but talks remain stalled over demands for a separate flag and constitution.

Muivah is currently leading peace talks with India’s federal government, seeking greater political rights for the Naga people, an Indigenous group spread across several northeastern Indian states.

Muivah left his home in 1964 to join the Naga independence movement, making only one brief return visit to his home state in 1973. His last attempt to visit his hometown in 2010 was met with a ban on his entry by the Manipur state government and triggered large-scale deadly protests.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A Naga wearing traditional attire stands next to an armed cadre of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) in Somdal village, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A chopper lands carrying Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in his native Somdal village, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People wave the Naga flag and welcome Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Armed cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) keep guard as they wait for their leader Thuingaleng Muivah in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People look out from their door waiting for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

An armed cadre National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) stands guard as a crowd waits to greet Thuingaleng Muivah, a top Naga insurgent leader, in Somdal village, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Nagas attend a felicitation event for Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), waves to the gathering in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People hold the Naga flag and wait to greet Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Schoolchildren wait for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), embraces his wife upon arrival in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People greet Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), as he arrives in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), arrives in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People wave the Naga flag as a chopper arrives carrying Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Nagas in traditional attire wait for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A woman sits in front of a graffiti of the Naga flag, near cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) cadres in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A Naga, dressed in traditional attire, waits for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People wait for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

The Naga flag flies, as people wait for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), is welcomed in Ukhrul, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (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)