In the fourth mission carried out by the Indian Navy under ‘Operation Samudra Setu,’ 687 fishermen stranded in Iran were brought to the VOC Port here on Wednesday.
After immigration check and medical screening, the returnees were sent to their respective districts by buses. Of this, 514 were from Kanniyakumari district, 33 from Thoothukudi and 38 from neighbouring Kerala. Minister for Information ‘Kadambur’ C. Raju, Collector Sandeep Nanduri and Chairman of VOC Port T.K. Ramachandran received the returnees as they got down from INS Jalashwa which left Bandar Abbas in Iran on June 25.
Returnees from Thoothukudi and Kerala were taken to isolation camps where their blood and throat swabs were collected, others were sent to their districts.
INS Jalashwa brought 713 Indians stranded in Sri Lanka on June 2, and 700 Indians from the Maldives on June 7. INS Airawat brought 198 Indians from the Maldives on June 23.
