Tears, cheers, relief at Delhi airport as Indians from Iran reunite with families
Around 10,000 Indians, many of them students, were in Iran when hostilities erupted over the weekend following Israel's air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Iran eased airspace restrictions for three charter flights to evacuate about 1,000 Indian nationals who were moved to safer places from Tehran, a senior Iranian diplomat had said on Friday.
Walking out of gate number 6 of terminal 3, some of the evacuees chanted 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Hindustan Zindabad', while others broke down upon seeing their families.
'Indian embassy officials made sure that we had a safe stay during our journey and proper supply of food and other necessities for all the passengers,' Sadiya Sheikh, a second-year MBBS (bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery) student of Islamic Azad University in Tehran, said.
'The evacuated students relatively had a safe exit from Tehran,' 22-year-old Sadiya added as she hugged her father Nikhat Sheikh at the Delhi airport.
Srinagar resident Daud, who is a third-year MBBS student in Tehran, said that the rescue operation had started almost three to four days ago while Tehran was being bombed heavily. 'We had to board a bus to the city of Qom that is roughly 150 km from Tehran. From Qom we took a 14-hour bus journey to the city of Mashhad from where we boarded the plane,' the 21-year-old explained as he boarded a bus slated to take evacuees to Srinagar. Students recalled massive explosions they heard last week in Iran's national capital, especially during the night. (PTI)
Students recalled massive explosions they heard last week in Iran's national capital, especially during the night. 'Rockets, drones were flying across the city of Tehran, there were huge explosions. Indian officials were with us through the entire process, guiding us through the entire journey,' Miftablal, a 22-year-old resident of Srinagar, told HT.
Irtika, another third-year MBBS student of Islamic Azad University, said, 'There were multiple explosions, we did not know where or how they were happening in the city, we were peeking out of the window and could see trails of missiles in the night sky.'
The 23-year-old resident of Jammu and Kashmir said that sounds of missiles and bombs exploding had created panic among students. 'As the war continues, our studies are halted and college is shut indefinitely. We don't know when we are going to return and start our course,' she added.
Apart from students, the Mahan Airlines flight carried passengers who were on a pilgrimage visit to Iran.
Syed Nazamul Hasan, a 44-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, had travelled to Mashhad on June 3 and was scheduled to return home on June 14. 'My flight got cancelled. My family was scared as they did not know when we were going to return,' he said.
The second flight carrying Indian evacuees from Iran took two and a half hours and landed on Saturday morning. More flights might be operated in the coming days for others wishing to return to India.
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