After Dramatic Night Rescue From Yemen, 350 Indians on Way Home

A naval warship "sailed into a barrage of bombs" in the dead of night on Tuesday to evacuate the Indians at the port city of Aden in the south of Yemen. The rescue took place in total darkness, so much that "one hand had to feel for another," said sources.

The Indians, including 101 women and 28 children, were taken to Djibouti across the Red Sea, nine hours from Aden by ship. They were greeted by union minister VK Singh, who is monitoring the evacuation.

They will be flown back home tonight in Indian Air Force planes. Two planes from Djibouti are expected to arrive in Kochi and Mumbai in the early hours of Thursday.

"Braving the weather with high spirits, Indian nationals evacuated from Aden now in Djibouti. Will be home tonight," the Ministry of External Affairs had tweeted.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for help to evacuate nurses who claim they are stuck in Yemen and their passports have not been returned by hospitals where they work.

Indian aircraft have also been cleared to fly to Yemeni capital Sana'a and evacuate people by air. Two Air India Airbus 320s have landed in Sana'a from Muscat, where they were waiting for clearance.

Around 750 of the 4000 Indians in Yemen have been evacuated so far. The naval ship INS Sumitra has permission to make multiple trips to evacuate more Indians.  It will be joined by two other naval vessels and two passenger liners, the navy said.

The Saudi-led coalition warplanes pounded the outskirts of Aden yesterday, destroying missiles and weapons depots and for the first time used warships to bomb the rebel-held airport.

On Monday, PM Modi spoke to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, who reportedly assured him of full assistance in evacuating stranded Indians.

Many countries, including Pakistan and China, have rushed their officials, aircraft and ships to evacuate their nationals.