Chandy asks PM Modi to extend air evacuation till April 11

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Thursday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the air evacuation of Indians from Yemen till April 11 as many more are stranded in the strife-torn country.

In a letter to the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Thursday said steps should be initiated to extend till Saturday the time limit for evacuating Indians from Yemen by flights. This was following reports that evacuation by flights would end today. "Several people are still stranded in Sanaa airport and places near it. They are not able to return as there are no seats available in the flights. Immediate arrangements should be made for their return," Chandy said in his letter.

Chandy also requested Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh who is coordinating the evacuation at Djibouti to make arrangements to bring back those Indians who can prove their identity even if they do not have passports or other documents.

He also thanked the Pakistani government for steps taken to evacuate five Keralites from Yemen. These people are expected to reach the state today.

India yesterday decided to extend air evacuation from Yemen till today following a rescue request by a group of 140 nurses even as it pulled out another 450 people from the war-ravaged country, taking the number of evacuees to 4500.