Colombo: Over 320 Indian nationals stranded at the Colombo airport following the extreme weather conditions in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka, were sent back home on IAF and commercial airline flights on Sunday.
The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka facilitated the evacuation of 323 stranded Indians from the Bandaranaike International Airport here in coordination with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and other relevant officials. “Two @IAF_MCC flights, an IL 76 with 247 passengers to Thiruvananthapuram and a C 130 J with 76 passengers to Delhi (Hindon), have taken off from Colombo,” the Indian High Commission said. Further evacuation of stranded passengers through commercial airlines are also underway, it said. Both the aircraft had arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday carrying food and humanitarian aid for flash floods victims, Sri Lankan officials said.
As Sri Lanka battled the aftermath of the powerful cyclone Ditwah, Acting High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Dr Satyanjal Pandey, met stranded compatriots at the Colombo airport on Saturday.