New Delhi [India], March 16 : Forty-five flights from various countries in the Gulf region, includng the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the Qatar are expected to land at various airports in India on Monday, an Indian government official said adding that around 2,20,000 Indians have returned to the country since February 28, when the war first began.
Flights are operating from Qatar, as its airspace has partially reopened, with three flights expected today and tomorrow to different destinations in India, according to Aseem Mahajan, Joint Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that 550 Indian nationals have crossed into Armenia through the land border. At the same time, 90 Indians have travelled into Azerbaijan from Iran via the land border.
Addressing an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on recent developments in West Asia, the MEA official said that, however, Kuwait's airspace remains closed, and special non-scheduled flights are expected to operate soon. For travellers in Bahrain and Iraq, transit through Saudi Arabia is being facilitated, he said.
Further, the MEA official said that two Indian nationals were killed in Sohar, Oman.
"On March 13th, in an attack in Sohar city in Oman, unfortunately, two Indian nationals had lost their lives. The embassy of India in Muscat is in constant touch with the families of the deceased Indian nationals and is coordinating with the concerned Omani authorities. Their mortal remains are expected to be repatriated to India soon. None of the Indian nationals is seriously injured..." the MEA Joint Secretary (Gulf) Mahajan said.
The official spokesperson for MEA, addessing the interministerial briefing today said, "We also have had approximately 90 of our nationals from Iran cross over into Azerbaijan through the land border. These movements were facilitated by our embassy in Tehran. They helped them with visas, as well as with immigration formalities that were required. In this group of 550 people that I mentioned, who have crossed from Iran into Armenia, we also have 284 people who had gone to Iran on pilgrimage. These people are there right now in both these countries. Some of them have already returned, and others would be returning in the next few days or so. Our embassy in Tehran, in spite of all the difficulties, continues to be fully functional. For the last few days, they have also been able to relocate students who were outside Tehran to cities which are safer for them."
Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said that an Indian-flagged vessel from the UAE is en route to India.
"Indian-flag vessel 'Jag Laadki', which sailed from the UAE on 14th of March, is carrying about 81,000 tonnes of Murban crude oil, is safely en route to India. The vessel and all Indian seafarers on board are safe. They'll be reaching tomorrow at Mundra Port," he said.
Sinha added, "Shivalik LPG carrier, which sailed from the Persian Gulf, crossed the Strait of Hormuz and headed towards India, will be reaching today around 5 pm..."
"Before its arrival, documentation, priority berthing, and everything have been arranged at the port so that there is no delay in the discharge of cargo by this vessel. All Indian seafarers in the Persian Gulf area are safe. No incident has been reported in the last 24 hours, and we are keeping a continuous watch on the situation. We are in touch with each vessel and its crew. 22 vessels, as was reported on Saturday, also. 22 Indian flag vessels with 611 Indian seafarers remain in the west of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf," Rajesh Kumar Sinha said.
Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport briefly suspended all flights on Monday after a nearby fuel tank caught fire, as fighting raged across West Asia and US President Donald Trump turned up the pressure on other countries to help end the de facto Iranian blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said that NATO faces a "very bad" future if US allies fail to help open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil transport conduit effectively shut by Iran in the war, as per Al Jazeera.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters in Doha that Iran needs to "stop the attacks" on the country, as per Al Jazeera.
He said in the news conference that Qatar has distanced itself from the Iran war, but retains the right to respond to the Iranian attacks on the Gulf country if necessary.
In the early morning of Saturday (local time), a missile targeting a residential area was intercepted, which prompted authorities to begin evacuating residents as a precaution, he said.