New Delhi : India has extended the air evacuation programme of stranded nationals from strife-torn Yemen till today, following a rescue request by a group of 140 nurses. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin took to twitter to share the information. “Responding to needs of 140 nurses India extends air evacuation from Yemen by a day. Flights planned for tomorrow also, subject to clearances,” Akbaruddin tweeted.
Meanwhile, reports stated that Indian Air Force aircraft C-17 brought back 239 Indian nationals evacuated from Yemen early this morning. While 177 people landed in Kochi, 62 arrived in Mumbai. The majority of the people who landed at Kochi were nurses from different districts of Kerala. Around 30 children were also amongst those who reached Kochi.
According to reports, Navy officers and Non Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) senior officials received the evacuated people at the airport, while special vehicles were arranged to drop them at their home towns. India had launched massive efforts to evacuate around 4,000 nationals, more than half of them nurses, out of Yemen, where Shi’ite Houthi fighters have swept in Aden despite an air campaign led by Saudi Arabia to check their advance. Till now, a total of 232 persons have been evacuated from 26 countries from Yemen.
