Mumbai:
The first batch of Indians evacuated from strife-torn Yemen landed at Mumbai airport on Friday, Kerala government sources told NDTV.
The batch comprised of 49 Indians in all. Those bound for Kerala will be flown to Kochi later in the day, sources added.
The External Affairs Ministry had, on Tuesday, renewed its appeal to Indian nationals and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to leave the Arab country urgently and had reminded them to avail of the Indian embassy's helplines.
After the wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh left the country, a deep power vacuum has been created in Yemen.
If the President were to return, it would almost certainly re-ignite fighting that shaken the capital the past two weeks, between government troops and opposition tribesmen determined to oust Saleh. That could throw the country into even greater chaos - and even outright civil war, if the Opposition becomes convinced that the only way to remove him is through force.