 "Yemen Crisis: Three Keralites return home, two ships rushed to Djibouti")
Three Keralites, stranded in strife-torn Yemen, returned home safley Monday morning. Lijo of Erattupetta and Jacob Korah of Kanjirappally reached Cochin International Airport via Doha by Qatar Airways this morning, while Ruben Jacob Chandy, a native of Changanassery, arrived at Thiruvananthapuram International airport.
Lijo told reporters that he returned on his own expense with help from Indian Embassy in Yemen. Around 3,500 Indians, mostly nurses from Kerala are stranded in Yemen, he said.
He said that the situation of Indians in places like Aden is grave as they can not go out of residences and deprived off water and food items. Most of the Indians are safe, but their condition is very grave.
There is no way to go out and get food and water. Saudi's attack is targeted on the rebel groups. So Indians are safe at their residences, he added.
Nurses said that the hospital authorities are not giving their passports back and their condition is pathetic there. Some Malayalee nurses sent videos of attack at several places to the local TV channels.
Ships for rescue
Meanwhile, on Monday morning two passenger ships sailed to Djibouti Port to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in Yemen, Cochin Port Trust (CPT) traffic manager said. He said that the ships, MV Kavarathi and MV Coral Sea had sailed to Yemen with all facilities, including food, water and medicines. Around 1200 Indians would be evacuated through these ships.
The ships are navigated by the Indian Navy and the entire mission would be controlled by them. It will take seven days to reach the Djibouti port.
CPT had called back MV Kavarathi which sailed to Lakshadweep on Sunday afternoon and routed to Djibouti. He added that the passengers to Lakhadweep will be sent in other ships on Monday itself.
Earlier in the day a 180-seater Air India flight took off from Delhi for Yemen's capital Sanaa via Muscat to airlift the Indians stranded in Yemen, soon after the government decided to evacuate its citizens amid the chaotic situation in the Gulf country.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday said that India had got permission from authorities to fly from Sanaa for three hours a day.
Chief minister Oommen Chandy said that he had communicated with several malayalee burses in Yemen over phone on Friday. Passports of most of them were detained. The Indian Embassy in Yemen has intervened and if they don't get their passports exit pass will be issued to them and will be brought back to India.
On Saturday, as many as 80 Indians left Sana'a for Djibouti where Indian mission will assist them in returning home.
The ministry has also set up a 24-hour Control Room to monitor the situation in Yemen where all the airports have been shut down.
In Yemen, Shiite militiamen, also known as Huthis, and army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh have overrun much of the country and prompted President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee for Saudi Arabia.
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A Saudi-led coalition of some 10 countries began bombing Yemen on Thursday, saying it was targeting the Houthis and their allies.
"80 Indians are leaving on Yemenia Airways' first flight from Sanaa on Saturday. They are headed to Djibouti where Indian mission will assist in their journey home," a Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said.
Concerned over the situation in Yemen, the ministry has been holding hectic intra-ministry parleys to explore ways to get its nationals out of the strife-torn country.
The ministry has also held inter-ministerial meeting to examine options available to government to assist Indian nationals in Yemen in current fragile security situation in which senior officials from ministries of Defence and Overseas Indian Affairs apart from Air India were present.