Operation Sindhu: Over 100 Indian students evacuated from war-torn Iran lands in Delhi

The first flight India operated under Operation Sindu to evacuate Indians stranded in Iran landed in Delhi during the early hours of Thursday. As many as 110 students were onboard the special flight. 

 

The Indians were evacuated from Iran's capital Tehran, amid heightened military tensions with Israel, through Armenia. The students crossed Iranian borders and entered Armenia through arrangements made by the Indian Embassy on Tuesday. 

 

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told PTI that another evacuation flight will be operated on Thursday. "We have planes ready. We will be sending another plane today. We are evacuating some more people from Turkmenistan," Singh said. He added that Indian missions abroad have opened 24-hour helplines to address any request for evacuation. "As the situation evolves, we will be sending more planes to evacuate Indian nationals," Singh added.

 

As per reports, over 1,500 students from Jammu and Kashmir alone are studying in universities in Iran. Varta, a student from Kashmir, who was among those evacuated, told PTI, "We were the first ones to be evacuated from Iran. The situation was quite critical. We were terrified. We thank the Indian government and Indian Embassy who worked very fast and swiftly to bring us here." She added her neighbourhood was attacked in the recent Israel-Iran conflict. 

 

The Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for launching Operation Sindu. "We remain hopeful that all remaining students will be evacuated soon," the association said in a statement. 

India