Operation Kaveri: Kerala expats head home after landing in Delhi; MoS meets deceased Indian's family

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India has evacuated up to 1100 persons from Sudan as part of Operation Kaveri before the precarious ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force expires.  

New Delhi: The first group of expatriates from Kerala who were evacuated from Sudan as part of "Operation Kaveri" has departed for Kerala from Delhi. At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, two Kerala families landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.

Biji Alappat, his wife Sharon, their children Michelle, Roshan, and Daniel Alappat, as well as Idukki resident Jayesh Venu, arrived at the Cochin International Airport at 8:50 a.m. aboard an Air India flight.

In the meantime, Kollam natives Thomas Varghese, Sheelamma Varghese, and Sherin Thomas have taken a Vistara aircraft from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram, arriving at 11.40 am.

Meanwhile, the family of Albert Augustine, who was killed by gunfire in Sudan, arrived in Jeddah. Albert Augustine's wife Sybella and daughter were received by Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan. 

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India has evacuated up to 1100 persons from Sudan as part of Operation Kaveri before the precarious ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force expires.

A C-130J military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force transported 128 additional Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah on Thursday as part of the fourth round of the operation, bringing the overall number of individuals saved to over 1000.

"The 4th IAF C-130J flight takes off from Port Sudan for Jeddah with 128 passengers. This is the sixth batch of Indians to be evacuated from Sudan under #OperationKaveri, taking the total to nearly 1100 persons," tweeted Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, MEA.

According to Jaishankar, the first C-130J aircraft brought to Jeddah 121 passengers while the second plane evacuated 135.

"A second C-130 flight reaches Jeddah bringing 135 passengers from Sudan. #OperationKaveri moving steadily forward," he tweeted.

India stepped up its efforts to evacuate the Indians from Sudan as a 72-hour truce was agreed to between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following intense negotiations.

India has established a transit hub in Jeddah and MoS V Muraleedharan is overseeing the evacuation mission from the Saudi Arabian city. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Monday announced the launch of 'Operation Kaveri' to bring back the stranded Indians from Sudan.