Sana’a in Yemen, International Airport made operational

• published: 28 Mar 2015
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Glimmer of hope for Indians stranded in Yemen The international airport at Sana’a in Yemen has been made operational bringing a ray of hope to Indians stranded in the war-torn country, as per reports reaching their relatives here. A person from Kerala, who did not want his name to be disclosed, informed The Hindu through WhatsApp that nearly 70 Indian nationals who reached the Sana’a airport had to return as they were no allowed to board the plane. They had reached the airport by 11 a.m. Indian time as the airport had become operational. However, according to him, they were turned back after six hours as the flights operated were for UN personnel and oilfield employees. The airport is at present controlled by Saudi forces and daylight evacuation can start only with the clearance from Saudi Arabian authorities, Minister for NoRK Affairs K.C. Joseph said. The State government was in constant touch with the Indian embassy in Yemen, he said. Mr. Joseph said the attempt to evacuate the UN employees was also a failure according to the Indian embassy personnel. Evacuation plans He said the government was thinking of evacuating Indians via the port of Djibouti. However, that would need the transportation of people through land, which was also risky. The situation was normal during the day at Sana’a but they could not sleep in the night on account of intense attacks, Jacob Korah, one of the Malayalis stranded in Sana’a, said. Mr. Joseph said there were about 3,000 Indians stranded in Yemen, of which 75 per cent were from Kerala. Most of the Keralites were nurses and a good number among the rest, paramedical staff. The passport of the majority of nurses was with the hospital managements and they had not received remuneration for the past two months. The State government had called for Central intervention to redress the grievances of the nurses and paramedical staff, Mr. Joseph said. Central help sought Special Correspondent writes from Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan has sought the urgent intervention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to rescue the Indians caught in Yemen. Mr. Achuthanandan said in a release here on Friday that the Indian Embassy in Yemen should play an active role in ensuring the safety of Indians, including Keralites, there and those caught in the strife should be rescued through air or sea.