As bombings by the Saudi-led 10-country coalition on rebel Houthis in Yemen continued for the fifth day, distressed Indians in Aden sent out SOS cries for help from the Indian government.
They said the Indian Embassy was concentrating on rescuing Indians from the Yemeni capital Sana’a but had ignored the plight of the 550 Indians in Aden.
Some of them said the Indian Embassy had not looked beyond Sana’a, where its offices are located. Indians stranded in Aden were asked by Embassy officials how they would reach Sana’a to be considered for rescue.
For Indians, getting from Aden to Sana’a now is almost impossible. In normal times, Aden to Sanaa, which is 450 km away, is 12 hours by road and an hour by air. No flights are operating from the Aden airport while Sana’a airport operates for three hours each day.
Apart from businessmen and professionals, Aden has at least 45 Indian nurses, all from Kerala. While 20 nurses in the government hospital are on duty (according to government instructions), 25 nurses working in a private hospital are also stranded in Aden.
The nurses’ only hope of escape, a risky one, is to take a ship from Aden port, 20 minutes away from their hospital.
