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Ships leave for Yemen to ferry stranded Indians

By Shaju Philip | PUBLISHED: 30, Mar 2015, 17:03 pm IST | UPDATED: 30, Mar 2015, 17:03 pm IST

Ships leave for Yemen to ferry stranded Indians Thiruvananthapuram: Two passenger ships from Kochi on Monday left for Djbouti to rescue Indians stranded in strife-torn Yemen. The ships would ferry the Indian from any one of the ports in Yemen to Djbouti, from where they would be flown to India.

Kochi Port Trust Chairman Paul Antony said the ships have made stock of enough provisions, apart from medical team. As the route is infested with pirates, Indian naval force has been deployed in the ships, said the chairman.

The ships M V Kawarati and M V Coral, which are otherwise usually plying between Kochi and Lakshadweep, would take seven days to reach Yemen coast. Reports from Delhi said a 180-seater airbus left Delhi for Sanaa on Monday morning to bring back Indians.

Meanwhile, three Keralites from Yemen reached Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram airports at their risk and expenses, but with the help of Indian Embassy. One of the returnees, Lijo Jacob, said the situation is very volatile in Yemen, but Indian are safe as the attacks are targeted only on strategic locations in Yemen, where Saudi forces are taking on Houthi rebels.

Indians working in war-ravaged Yemen have started registering their names with Indian Embassy in order to exit that country.

Nurses from Kerala, who are working in hospitals in Sanaa, told The Indian Express that the hospital managements have agreed to hand over the Indian employees’ their passports and certificates after the Embassy had a meeting with hospitals managements on Sunday.

“The hospitals are now willing to pay the salary arrears. We have been asked to pack up to get out of the country at the earliest possible means arranged by India,” said nurse Nisha.

Until Saturday, the situation was different. Hospitals controlled by Houthi rebels were against Indian nurses leaving the hospitals. They had tried to persuade the nurses to stay back in the hospitals and report for duty ensuring safety for hospitals and their staff.

Nurses said, although the situation is highly volatile, Indians are still safe. “Expatriates buy essential items from nearby markets during day time, which is almost incident-free. Normal water supply has been hit several days back, but supply has been resumed through tankers. Roads are almost clear during the day time and even nurses working 50 km away from Sanaa have managed to reach Indian Embassy on Monday to register their names,” said nurse Ragesh Velayudan.