Evacuees from Sudan thank Modi govt on reaching Mumbai

As they touched Mumbai, evacuees from Sudan thanked the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for rescuing them but are worried about their futures and the others stranded in the war-torn North-East African country.

Under Operation Kaveri, an Indian Air Force C17 Globemaster aircraft with 246 Indian evacuees on board landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon.

“We have reached India, we are happy that we are back in homeland…but many of us are still stranded in Sudan,” said Nisha Mehta, who was among the evacuees.

For all of them, it was an emotional moment - as there were tears and smiles - and many of them saluted as they came out of the aircraft.

Read | 'Nightmare': Sudan evacuees fear for those left behind

“Another flight comes to Mumbai….246 more Indians come back to the motherland,” Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar tweeted as soon as the plane landed.

“Efforts are on to ensure that all Indians, who arrived in Jeddah will be sent to India at the earliest. 246 Indians will be in Mumbai soon, travelling by IAF C17 Globemaster. Happy to see them off at Jeddah airport,” Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan tweeted before the plane left Jeddah.

Evacuees said that there are problems related to the availability of food and water and that life is a risk. “As soon as we heard that Modi had launched Operation Kaveri, we were sure that we would reach India safely,” another evacuee said.