India evacuates 574 from Yemen within day
Xinhua, April 7, 2015 Adjust font size:
India on Monday flew 574 people, including some third nation residents, from Yemen's capital Sana'a by Air India plane, said the Ministry of External Affairs.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the efforts of Indian officials in the on-going evacuation process.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted, "Exceeding previous efforts. Evacuation by Air India today from Sana'a was highest thus far and 574 persons head from Yemen to Djibouti."
India has evacuated over 3,000 of its nationals from Yemen so far by air and sea.
India also received requests from 23 countries, including Bangladesh, France, Germany, the United States and Sri Lanka, to help evacuate their citizens from strife-torn Yemen, which is witnessing continuing fighting between the Shi'ite Houthi rebels and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition of 10 nations, which has launched air strikes in Yemen.
Modi in a series of tweets praised the repatriation efforts as well as that of his two ministers, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, for personally overseeing the evacuation efforts. Endi