First flight carrying Indian students moved from Iran to Armenia lands in Delhi under Operation Sindhu
An aircraft carrying over Indian 100 students, who were evacuated to Armenia from Iran amid conflict with Israel, landed in Delhi in the early hours of Thursday under India's 'Operation Sindhu'.
The 110 students crossed the border from Iran's Tehran to Armenia through arrangements made by the Indian embassy under 'Operation Sindhu' amid widening conflict between Iran and Israel.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said Indian students in Tehran have been moved out of the city for safety reasons through arrangements made by the Indian Embassy. Other residents who are self-sufficient in terms of transport have also been advised to move out of the city in view of the developing situation, the MEA had said.
Separately, some Indians have been facilitated to leave Iran through the border with Armenia, the MEA said, adding that further advisories may be issued given the fluid situation.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, 110 Indian students from Urmia Medical University, 90 of them from the Kashmir Valley, have safely crossed the border into Armenia, PTI news agency reported.
The Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for launching the evacuation effort.
"We remain hopeful that all remaining students will be evacuated soon," the association said in a statement.
Haider Ali, father of 21-year-old Maaz Haider, an MBBS student in Iran, thanked the government of India for the rescue efforts.
"We are really happy. The students have been brought back home safely. We thank the Indian government for this. But we are sad that students, who are stuck in Tehran, have not been rescued," PTI quoted as saying Ali, who urged the authorities to evacuate students still stranded in Tehran.
Mir Khalif, an MBBS student who landed in Delhi, said situation is tense in Iran, appealing to the government to rescue those still there.
"We could see missiles. There was a war going on. Our neighbourhood was bombed. We were very afraid of the situation. I hope we will never see those days again," he said.
"There are students still stuck in Iran. They are being relocated to safer places. We hope they will also be airlifted to India soon," he added.
Khalif thanked the Indian government for evacuating them first to Armenia and then bringing them back home.
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