44 Indian pilgrims from Iran arrive in Mumbai, quarantined

They will spend 14 days at a Navy facility in Ghatkopar

Forty-four Indian pilgrims, who were stranded in Iran, arrived in Mumbai on Friday and were shifted to a new Indian Navy quarantine facility in Ghatkopar, where they will stay for the next 14 days.

A Mumbai International Airport Ltd spokesperson said the special Iran Air flight, IR810, from Tehran landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 12.07 p.m.

“All passengers and crew underwent screening by the airport health organisation at the isolation bay and were transferred directly from the aircraft to the Indian naval facility in Ghatkopar to follow the mandatory 14-day quarantine period,” the spokesperson said.

Though all 44, including 21 women, have tested negative for novel cororanvirus, the quarantine is a necessary protocol. This is the second batch of Indian pilgrims. All of them were part of a group of 120 Indians, 76 of whom will come on a Mahan Air flight that will reach Delhi on March 15. The first batch of 58 Indian pilgrims was brought back from Iran on March 10.

Iran is one of the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus outbreak and the government has been working to bring back the Indians stranded there. “Second batch of 44 Indian pilgrims has arrived today from #Iran. Our efforts to bring back the others continue. @India_in_Iran and our medical team - keep up the good work. Appreciate the support of Iranian authorities and their airlines,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted.

On Thursday, the government had said that there were over 6,000 Indians in various provinces of Iran. These include 1,100 pilgrims from Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir. All these Shia Muslim pilgrims are in Qom city. The shrines in Iran attract millions of Shia pilgrims every year. Besides the pilgrims, there are 300 students in different parts of that country.