Comments
Forty-six nurses, who were held captive by ISIS militants in Iraq, today returned home by a special Air India flight to a happy reunion with their families here, bringing to an end their about month-long ordeal.
The special aircraft, which also had on board about 137 others, touched down on the tarmac at the Kochi International Airport at 11.57 am, a senior airport official said.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy whose coordinated effort with the Union Government ensured liberty to the nurses from his state, besides another who hails from Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, received them at the airport.
Relieved family members of the nurses assembled in large numbers at the airport to see their beloved ones return and were joined by political leaders from the BJP and Congress.
The ordeal of the nurses, who were working at a hospital in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, began when ISIS (Islamic State for Iraq and Syria) militants launched an offensive in that region on June 9.
Even as Indian authorities continued to maintain constant touch with their counterparts in Iraq for the safe release of nurses, they were moved out on Thursday against their will and detained in the militant-held city of Mosul.
Efforts by the External Affairs Ministry saw the nurses being free and they were transported in buses to Erbil International airport yesterday.
The special flight that left Erbil in the early hours of today arrived at Mumbai for a brief stop over for refuelling and catering supplies.
Besides the nurses, the flight also carried 137 other Indian nationals, including 70 from Kirkuk in the northern part of Iraq, 23 crew members and three Government officials, including a joint-secretary level IFS officer and an IAS woman officer from Kerala.
Chandy thanked the Centre, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Embassy in Iraq and the MEA for ensuring the return of the nurses from strife-hit Iraq.
“The Centre has acted in complete understanding of the deep anxieties of Kerala. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Iraq have made sincere efforts in securing the release of the nurses,” Chandy told presspersons here.
The Kerala Government has made arrangements to enable the nurses to reach their respective destinations across the State.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.