Mangaluru, Mar 31: As bombings by the Saudi-led 10-country coalition on rebel Houthis in Yemen continued for the sixth day, distressed Indians in Aden sent out SOS cries for help from the Indian government.
They said the Indian Embassy was concentrating on rescuing Indians from the Yemeni capital Sana’a but had ignored the plight of the 550 Indians in Aden.
Six from Bhatkal stranded in Aden
Among those who stranded in Aden include six persons from Bhatkal including three children and one person from Kasaragod.
Mohammed Yunus Shabandri, who has been staying in Yemen's Aden with his family for several years, has urged Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah to exert pressure on the union government to ensure safety and security of helpless expatriates from Karnataka stranded in Yemen.
Shabandri’s family, comprising his wife and three children and one his friend from Bhatkal, Shaikh Ruknuddin are staying together in Aden. 34-year-old Jinto Joseph from Odayanchal in Kasaragod district also among dozens of Keralites stranded in Aden.
Many of the Indian expatriates stranded in Aden said the Indian Embassy had not looked beyond Sana’a, where its offices are located. They were asked by Embassy officials how they would reach Sana’a to be considered for rescue, sources said.
Smoke billows after an airstrike in Sana’a. This photo was sent by Bengalurian Ravi Kumar, who is stranded in war-torn Yemen.
For Indians, getting from Aden to Sana’a now is almost impossible. In normal times, Aden to Sanaa, which is 450 km away, is 12 hours by road and an hour by air. No flights are operating from the Aden airport while Sana’a airport operates for three hours each day.
Apart from businessmen and professionals, Aden has at least 45 Indian nurses, all from Kerala. While 20 nurses in the government hospital are on duty (according to government instructions), 25 nurses working in a private hospital are also stranded in Aden. The nurses’ only hope of escape, a risky one, is to take a ship from Aden port, 20 minutes away from their hospital.
DK youth stranded in Sana’a
On the other hand family members of Rajesh, a youth from Kadaba village in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, who is stranded in Sana’a for almost a week, has blamed the Indian government for its “tardy response to the crisis.”
Family members of Rajesh said that he and his colleagues were awaiting a rescue operation. “Why can’t they rescue the Indians in helicopters and bring them to safety?” asked the frightened family members.
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