November 23, 2024 09:15 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'Third World War has begun:' Ex-Ukraine military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny | UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations to resume in early 2024 | UK can arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits country based on ICC warrant | Centre to send over 10,000 additional soldiers to violence-hit Manipur amid fresh violence | Chhattisgarh: 10 Maoists killed during encounter with security forces in Sukma
Indian nurses caught in Iraq crisis return to Kochi

Indian nurses caught in Iraq crisis return to Kochi

| | 05 Jul 2014, 12:34 pm
New Delhi, July 5 (IBNS):A special Air India flight with 46 Indian nurses whose freedom was secured by the Indian authorities reached Kochi on Saturday shortly after noon with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy himself turning up to receive them at the airport along with the families and kins of the nurses who underwent an ordeal for weeks.
The relatives of the nurses waited with impatience outside as the plane landed in Kochi. 
 
The nurses thanked the Indian government for their freedom and safe return to India. 

The aircraft has brought back about 100 other Indian nationals besides the nurses.

With the nurses mostly hailing from Kerala, the flight would head for New Delhi via Hyderabad, said reports.

"Air India plane with nurses & other workers from Iraq changes crew in Mumbai & heads for Kochi," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Saturday.

The nurses were held in captivity in Tikrit in Iraq by the Sunni militant group ISIS.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on  Friday had confirmed that all the 46 Indian nurses were free from captivity   and are unharmed and unhurt while Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said they will be flown back by Saturday morning.

"It happened owing to enormous effort," said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin addressing media, adding that the External Affairs Minister also made tremendous efforts.

He said people were hopeless about situations but there was no hopeless situation and finally their freedom was secured though non-diplomatic means. "Hope triumphs! Some thought we were moving towards a hopeless end, but others were full of endless hope," said Akbaruddin.

He said the nurses were still in captivity (of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIS militants) according to their reports tillThursday.  

"We will not leave any stoned unturned to get back our nationals," said Akbaruddin urging media to not run unreliable stories.

He said all tools are being used to secure the Indians. He refused to confirm or speak on any conditions accepted by India to secure the release saying it is an ongoing process.

He said all means were used to reach to the nurses and free them and contacts were not just at diplomatic levels but also at ground levels. He said India has friends both inside and outside Iraq.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.