173 stranded in Saudi Arabia return to Mangaluru

As many as 173 stranded people, including eight children from Saudi Arabia, landed at Mangaluru International Airport on Monday night.

Entrepreneurs Zakaria Jokatte and Sheikh Karnire under Saudi Kannadigas Humanity Forum had arranged a special chartered flight for the stranded people in Saudi Arabia. The passengers who arrived hail from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and other parts of the state and passengers themselves had borne the ticket fare for their travel. All who arrived will complete seven days of institutional quarantine in Mangaluru before leaving for their native places, said officials.

In the last three weeks, 12 special flights with 1,987 passengers from various Gulf countries had landed at Mangaluru airport. Already, throat swab samples of 1814 passengers, who had arrived in Mangaluru, have been tested and 239 people with international travel history have tested positive and the samples of 1,575 passengers have tested negative so far.