Indian Navy evacuates nearly 348 Indians from strife-torn Yemen

The ship will ply about 150-odd passengers at a time from Aden to Djibouti.

Nearly 348 Indian nationals were rescued on Tuesday by the Indian Navy from the strife-torn Yemen’s Aden city. INS Sumitra took the people to the neighbouring territory of Djibouti, which lies across the Red Sea.

The evacuation process was initiated after India got approval on Tuesday to dock its ship at the Aden harbour.

READ: Warship in Aden to bring back Indians from Yemen

Sailing away from troubles. INS Sumitra set sail for Djibouti late last night from Aden with 348 Indian nationals evacuated from Yemen.

— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) April 1, 2015

The Ministry of External Affairs had tweeted: INS Sumitra now in Aden harbour. Evacuation of our nationals from Yemen soon.

INS Sumitra to depart Aden tonight for Djibouti with 1st batch of Indians evacuated from Yemen by sea. Will reach Djibouti tomorrow morning.

— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) March 31, 2015

The ship, which left along with other vessels from Mumbai and Kochi, will ferry Indians stranded in Yemen to Djibouti, a country on the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. From there, the passengers will then be flown to Mumbai by the national carrier. The rescue operation has been named Op Raahat.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj briefed the Cabinet Tuesday on the evacuation efforts.

Navy officials in Delhi said that INS Mumbai — a destroyer — and INS Tarkash — a stealth frigate — departed from Mumbai on Monday evening. “INS Sumitra is off the coast of Aden awaiting clearance to enter the harbour,” a Navy official said at about 6.30 pm on Tuesday.

“Two warships from Mumbai and two passenger liners — Kavaratti and Corals — from Kochi departed on the morning of March 30. They will rendezvous in Arabian sea and move as a composite group to Djibouti,” the official said.

Source:: Indian Express