COVID 19: India airlifts 234 Indians stranded in coronavirus-hit Iran
New Delhi : 234 Indians, including students and pilgrims stranded in coronavirus-hit Iran, have been airlifted and brought back to India on Sunday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said.
Mr Shankar expressed his gratitude to the Iran officials for their help and co-operation in making the evacuation of Indian nationals smooth. The Indians were sent by an air plane of Mahan, an Iranian carrier. They landed in Mumbai.
"234 Indians stranded in Iran have arrived in India; including 131 students and 103 pilgrims. Thank you Ambassador @dhamugaddam (Dhamu Gaddam) and @India_in_Iran team for your efforts. Thank Iranian authorities," the minister tweeted.
234 Indians stranded in #Iran have arrived in India; including 131 students and 103 pilgrims.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 14, 2020
Thank you Ambassador @dhamugaddam and @India_in_Iran team for your efforts. Thank Iranian authorities.
Iran has been the second nation after China with the most number of coronavirus cases; 12,729 cases including senior officials have been tested positive to COVID 19. It said on Saturday the coronavirus outbreak has killed another 97 people, pushing the death toll in the country to 611.
Earlier, India had brought back the first batch of 58 Indians in a C-17 Globemaster, the largest military aircraft in the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) inventory, on Tuesday followed by another evacuation of 44 individuals on Friday.
So far, India has reported two deaths and 84 positive cases of coronavirus so far.
