Indian operating additional flights from Oman

MUSCAT: Indian is operating additional flights to clear the backlog of passengers who have been stranded in Oman by last week's devastating cyclonic storm.

Cyclone Gonu hit Oman, home to 386,000 Indians, early Wednesday, forcing evacuation of thousands of people and causing widespread damage to life and property.

Abhay Pathak, Indian's regional manager for the Gulf region, arrived here Sunday to supervise the operation, reported the Oman Observer.

"We hope to clear the backlog of passengers by Monday," said Pathak.

"Arranging for extra flights has been a major challenge because it is currently the peak season. Besides, resources and pilots are limited. Yet, we somehow did manage to lay on additional flights to serve our customers," he added.

Meanwhile, four more Indians have died in the cyclone, taking the toll to six.
The Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said the bodies of the four  - Prithvi Pal Singh and Prempal Singh from Punjab, Anil Kumar from Palakkad in Kerala and Sarawana Kumar Pillai have been found.

Earlier, two deaths - of Prakash from Mysore in Karnataka and Pokkan Sreenu from East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh  had been confirmed by authorities.