Twins back in Bhutan after Australian op

Two formerly conjoined Bhutanese twin girls have arrived home after being separated in an operation in Australia, sparking joy when their family saw them walking independently.

Twenty-month-old Nima and Dawa returned to Bhutan on Thursday after a 22-hour flight from Melbourne with their mother, four months after their operation.

The girls had been joined at the torso and shared a liver.

Barely controlling his emotions, their father, Sonam Tshering, said it was like a miracle. He took them from the airport to a monastery to light a lamp in prayer.

The girls were separated in an operation in early November at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital that lasted almost six hours.

They recovered following the operation at a retreat run by the charity that brought them to Australia.