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Yemen Crisis : Over 350 Indians evacuated; returns to India on two IAF flights

The Indians Were Evacuated Late Monday Night By INS Sumitra, Which Was Diverted From Its Anti-piracy Patrol In The Region. It Waited For Hours To Get Local Clearances As Heavy Fighting Was Reported In The City.

PTI | Updated on: 02 Apr 2015, 02:35:54 PM

Kochi/Mumbai:

An IAF plane carrying 168 Indian nationals evacuated from Yemen landed on Wednesday night in the government’s first major mission to rescue Indians stranded in the strife-torn nation.

The Indian nationals, including nurses and workers, among others, reached home by the special flight—Indian Air Force’s C17 Globemasters—bringing an end to their about a week-long ordeal.

The flight landed at 2 AM. The evacuees were welcomed at the airport by Kerala Minister for Diaspora K C Joseph, PWD Minister Ibrahim Kunju and Ernakulam District Collector M G Rajamanikyam.

They were part of as many as 350 Indians who yesterday reached at Djibouti after being evacuated on a Navy vessel from Aden, the seaport city of Yemen.

Parents of Jincy and Tincy, two nurses working with government hospitals in Yemen, are concerned about their elder daughter whose flight from Sana’a was cancelled even after a boarding pass was issued.

Talking to PTI from Kochi airport, mother of the nurses, Omana, hailing from Vadakkancherry of Palakkad district, said only Jincy, working in Aden, could reach home safely.

“We are happy that our daughter Jincy is coming back on the special flight. But we are concerned about the safety our elder daughter Tincy who is in Sana’a. We hoped that she would also be reaching safely tonight.

“Jincy could not come as the flight did not take off because of the last minute developments at Sana’a airport,” said Omana who came to the airport along with her husband Soman to receive their daughters.

A Kerala government official said the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) cell would give Rs 2000 each to the people who returned from Yemen at the airport besides providing them free transportation facilities to reach home.

An IAF plane carrying 190 Indian nationals evacuated from Yemen landed here today, in the government’s first major mission to rescue Indians stranded in the strife-torn nation.

The evacuees, which included nurses and workers, among others, reached home in a special flight, thus bringing an end to their about a week-long ordeal.

The Indian Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster, carrying them landed at around 3:25 AM at the city’s international airport here.

This was the second flight in the rescue efforts, as at 2 AM, an IAF plane carrying 168 Indians aboard, evacuated from Yemen landed in Kochi.

Defence sources said that the flight to Mumbai could not take off on time from Djibouti due to the pending paper work of the evacuees.

Many people did not have even their passports with them leading to delay in flight, the sources said.

Maharashtra Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Mehta and MP Kirit Somaiya were present the airport to welcome the evacuees.

They were part of as many as 350 Indians who reached Djibouti after being evacuated on a Navy vessel from Aden, the seaport city of Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Central Railway has offered free-of-cost travelling for the evacuees till their destinations.

The evacuation operation was a very difficult task as not much details were available with the IAF, Wing Commander Vikram Abbi, co-pilot of the flight, told PTI.

Abbi said that the crew were told about the rescue operation on March 30 and the flight departed from India yesterday.

One of the evacuees, Mary Amma Vargeese said, she was working as a nurse in a hospital in Aden for past two years.  And, one day she suddenly “heard some exploding sound, after which I stopped going to work.”

“All the shops were closed, we didn’t have food for many days,” she said.

A spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry has said of the 350 evacuees, 206 belong to Kerala, 40 are from Tamil Nadu, 31 from Maharashtra, 23 from West Bengal and 22 from Delhi, besides other states.

The Indians were evacuated late Monday night by INS Sumitra, which was diverted from its anti-piracy patrol in the region. It waited for hours to get local clearances as heavy fighting was reported in the city.

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First Published : 02 Apr 2015, 07:31:00 AM

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