INS Tarkash evacuates 464 people of different nationalities from war torn Yemen

In yet another difficult and challenging operation, Indian Naval Ship Tarkash evacuated 464 people of different nationalities from the war torn city of Aden, Yemen on Friday, even as India ended its air rescue operations.

The naval ship carrying  46 Indians nationals and 422 persons hailing from 14 countries were evacuated in this trip from the port city of Aden and disembarked at Djibouti on 11 April 15.

Besides the evacuees, the naval vessel had on board the body of late Manjeet Singh, who succumbed to injuries sustained during bombing in Aden city on its passage to Djibouti. Manjeet Singh is a resident of Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.

Most of the personnel evacuated were reported to be in a state of shock and were greatly relieved to be safely onboard an Indian naval ship. They included four pregnant women, one patient each suffering from cancer and renal failure and two malnourished children, who were provided succor and medical aid by INS Tarkash.

Meanwhile, the city of Aden continued to remain under siege by the Houthis and the situation there was grim with continuous shelling and firing taking place, according to Indian Navy sources. However, a defence ministry release said, INS Tarkash continues to undertake embarkation of evacuees amidst gunshots, shelling and firing in port area and on the jetty.

Earlier, on Thursday, another Indian navy ship INS Sumitra had safely evacuated 349 personnel, including some foreign nationals, from the Port Al Hodeidah. Sumitra was received in Djibouti harbour by Indian Ambassador to Ethopia and Bangladeshi Ambassador to Kuwait. All evacuees were safely disembarked at Djibouti for further passage to India by Indian Air Force aircraft and civil flights the next day.

Till now Indian Naval Ships Mumbai, Tarkash and Sumitra deployed in Gulf of Aden have evacuated 2,671 persons, including 964 foreign nationals from 30 countries. Indian Navy Ship deployed off the coast of Yemen continues to undertake evacuation operations as part of `Operation Rahat', the release added.