A-I starts airlifting of Indians evacuated from Lebanon

NEW DELHI: Air India would commence airlifting of Indians evacuated from troubled Lebanon on Friday, ferrying 604 people by two special planes.

One Boeing 747-400 would leave Larnaca at 1630 hours IST, carrying 350 passengers on board, and reach Chennai at 2330 hours.

The other 747-400 aircraft would leave later in the evening with 204 passengers to arrive at Mumbai past midnight, an AI spokesman said from Mumbai.

He said the delay in airlifting the stranded Indians was caused due to their late arrival by ship from Lebanon. The two aircraft had reached the Cypriot city this morning.

Depending on the requirements, Air India would continue mounting flights to Larnaca every alternate day.  The evacuees, including 23 women and four children, were brought by warship INS Mumbai as the Indian Navy launched 'Operation Sukoon'.

Besides Indians, the warship also ferried 13 people from other countries including Nepal and Sri Lanka. Among those rescued were Lebanese Indians and Indian Americans.

With requests for evacuation being received from hundreds of other Indians amid escalation of fighting, another warship INS Brahmaputra is expected to reach Beirut port on Friday to rescue more people.

Two more warships -- INS Shakti and INS Betwa -- are near the Beirut port and will enter the harbour one by one to rescue about 12,000 Indians living in Lebanon. Over 100 have already been evacuated by road to Syrian capital Damascus.