345 Indian fishermen evacuated from Iran amid West Asia conflict arrive in Chennai via Armenia
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 4 (ANI): A total of 345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran amid the ongoing West Asia conflict arrived safely in Chennai on Saturday evening after being evacuated through Armenia.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs's External Publicity & Public Diplomacy Division, the fishermen were brought back as part of India's continued efforts to ensure the safety of its nationals in the conflict-affected region.
Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in a post on X, expressed gratitude to the Armenian government for facilitating the evacuation and thanked his counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for enabling the safe transit of Indian nationals from Iran to India amid the conflict.
"Thank FM Ararat Mirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar wrote on X.
Armenia has been facilitating the evacuation of Indian nationals in Iran.
On Thursday, the MEA said that more than 1,200 Indian nationals have been safely evacuated from Iran, out of which 996 moved to Armenia.
Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing in the national capital, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the evacuation is being carried out through Armenia and Azerbaijan with the Centre closely coordinating efforts on the ground.
According to Jaiswal, "Some 1200 Indian nationals have been evacuated, of which 845 are students."
He added, "996 moved to Armenia and 204 to Azerbaijan, from where they are being helped by the MEA."
The spokesperson said the Ministry has been working closely with Indian missions and local authorities in both Armenia and Azerbaijan to ensure the safe return of citizens and noted that arrangements are in place to assist evacuees in transit before they are brought back to India.
Meanwhile, over 6 lakh passengers have returned to India amid the developing security situation in West Asia.
Aseem R Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs, said, "Since February 28th, around 6,24,000 passengers have travelled from the region to India. Airlines continue to operate limited non-scheduled flights based on operational and safety considerations between the UAE and India. Around 90 flights are expected to operate from the UAE to various destinations in India today."
The West Asia crisis began on February 28 with US-Israel strikes on Iran, and subsequent Iranian retaliation engulfed the region in the conflict, affecting the airspace in the Gulf region. (ANI)
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