Eighteen Indians, all from Tamil Nadu, are stranded in cruise ship ‘A Sara’ that remains anchored in the Nile, near the city of Luxor in Egypt, for the fifth day after 33 passengers and 12 crew members were tested positive for COVID-19 .
A passenger from Coimbatore, speaking to The Hindu over phone, said that they, most of them aged above 50, were in a state of panic as they were yet to hear from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Egypt about evacuation efforts.
Also read: Coronavirus | Five more people from Kerala test positive for COVID-19
Of the 18 Tamilians, one passenger, an engineer from Chennai, was shifted to a hospital in the port city of Alexandria on Saturday after he developed symptoms of COVID-19.
“The crew told us that we will be quarantined for 14 days more. We were asked to remain in rooms. The crew is also not providing us food on time and not asking about medical requirements of the passengers who are senior citizens. The crew is also not communicating to passengers properly who are all in a state of panic,” said Vanitha Rengaraj, 60, founder of Sharanalayam orphanage in Coimbatore, who along with her husband R. Rengaraj, 62, are among the stranded.
Also read: Coronavirus: Live updates | We are fully prepared to deal with COVID-19, says Arvind Kejriwal
The passengers from India had left the country on February 27 and they were supposed to be back on March 7. Salem-based Grand Royal Tours had taken them to Egypt and the package included a Nile cruise. The ship had 171 passengers on board according to international media reports and a bell boy was first tested positive for COVID-19.
“The crew forcibly took the Chennai native to a hospital leaving his wife in the ship. The crew does not respond to our queries,” she alleged.
When Egypt had a single case of COVID-19, Ms. Rangaraj who had booked the package in advance, asked the tour operator whether it was safe to travel to country. She said that the operator guaranteed a safe tour.
According to her, the U.S. Government evacuated their passengers from the ship a few days ago.
Mr. Rengaraj’s daughter Saranya Rengaraj said that the matter was communicated to the Indian Embassy in Egypt through the tour operator.
“We do not know whether the government knows about the stranded Indians. We expect them to take immediate measures to be taken for their safety and return,” she said.
