JOIN USIndia evacuates 670 people from Yemen
India on Sunday evacuated 670 citizens from Yemen, taking the total number of Indians rescued from the war-ravaged country to nearly 2,300.
It was largest evacuation operation carried out jointly by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Air India.
Naval ship INS Sumitra, the first naval ship to reach the strife-torn nation, on Sunday went to a new port named Ash Shihr to pick up 203 Indians from Al Mukallah area. The evacuees were brought to the ship using local boats. Out of them 182 are Indians whereas 20 people belong to seven other countries.
INS Sumitra could not make a stop in Al Mukallah on Saturday and was diverted to the nearest port at Ash Shihr, about 25 kms east northeast of Al Mukallah.
Indians from the fallen city were moved to Ash Shihr port from where they were transferred to the Navy vessel using smaller boats. Due to the security situation, it anchored 3 km outside the port.
Even though the situation remained grim, all Indians have been evacuated from Mukallah area and INS Sumitra is expected to reach Djibouti on Monday, said a Navy official.
Air India evacuated 488 Indians only from Sanaa conducting three successful flights.
The second naval ship INS Mumbai, after disembarking the evacuees on Sunday morning, is set for another rescue mission on the west coast of Yemen. Out of two IAF C-17 Globemaster transport planes, one has taken off from the transit point in Djibouti and is expected to arrive in Mumbai on Sunday night. The second IAF plane has also taken off with 227 passengers.
A no-fly zone enforced in Yemeni airspace by the Saudi Arab-led coalition made it difficult to evacuate Indians by air. India has been requesting Saudi Arabia to allow aerial sorties to Saana on daily basis.
Sources said the number of Indians across Yemen was around 5,000 out of which 1,000 were women married to Yemeni nationals. The number of Indians in Saana would be around 3,000 while around 554 were in Aden and 298 were in offshore oil fields.
Keralites return
The Centre’s evacuation drive in war-hit Yemen have seen 469 Keralites return home in five days, Kerala’s Minister for Non-Resident Keralite Affairs K C Joseph said on Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram.
Of the 469 returnees, 380 arrived in Kochi while the rest in Mumbai.
India had evacuated 440 more Indians stranded in Yemen by sea on Saturday; they were being taken from the Port of Aden to Djibouti in a ship while 350 Indians will be flown in from Sana’a to Djibouti. The evacuees will arrive in Mumbai and Kochi in two aircraft late on Sunday, an official statement said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will chair a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss measures to expedite evacuation efforts in Yemen.