The first batch of Indians stranded in the war-torn Yemen arrived at the neighbouring port of Djibouti on Saturday evening, according to Minister for Non-Resident Keralite Affairs K.C. Joseph.
Speaking to The Hindu , he said the Indian embassy at Sana’a met in the evening and asked members of the Indian community to prepare for evacuation as an air corridor had been opened for flights.
According to Mr. Joseph, the embassy is also trying to get the passport and salary of the stranded Indians, the majority of them Malayalis, mostly working as nurses and paramedical staff.
However, the embassy staff also advised them not to wait for outstanding salary but rush for the evacuation process that may be put in place any time now, the Minister said.
Most of the Indians, over 70 per cent of them Malayalis, are concentrated in the capital city of Sana’a and the post cities of Aden and Hodeida.
Jacob Korah, a shipping company employee, was among more than 10 Malayalis in the first batch of over 150 Indian evacuees who boarded a flight by 6 p.m. IST and reached Djibouti by 7.30 p.m. They would take a flight to Doha in Qatar on Sunday morning and are expected to reach Kochi by 8.15 a.m. on Monday.
Mr. Joseph said the two ships sent to Yemen for evacuating Indians would take another four days to reach there. Mr. Korah said three flights were operated on Saturday from Sana’a, of which two were exclusively for the UN staff.
Mr. Joseph, meanwhile, said the important thing was that that an air corridor had been provided for evacuating stranded foreigners.
