Three students from Bengal stranded in bunker at Kiev

kolkata: Three students from Bengal have been stranded in an underground bunker underneath an abandoned apartment at Kiev in Ukraine for the last six days, awaiting evacuation amid constant firings and bombings occurring there.

"We have received no assistance from the concerned authorities here and have no idea when we will be able to get out from here. The situation is turning worse with each passing day,"Rupam Mondal of Jhargram, who had been compelled to stay in the bunker, said.

He added that they were well aware that the Indian government had asked the stranded Indians to leave Kiev as early as possible, but all their efforts had proved futile.

"We had made up our minds that we would travel to the railway station—10 kms away— and leave Kiev. We packed our luggage and as we were about to leave, we heard the sounds of bombing. We were left with no other option but retreat back to the bunker. We were on the streets quite sometime, but there was no cab or other transport available for us to travel up to the rail station," Rupam said.

He reiterated that the Indian authority there had told them that if they travel by train then it would be entirely their responsibility. Still, they tried their best to escape as they were unsure about the assistance from the embassy there.Usnis Roy, another student stuck at the same place, said it was biting cold there with average temperature being minus 4 degree Celsius.

"We are also running out of food and water and presently we are boiling tap water for drinking," he added. Ashis Biswas, a student from Dhupguri in Jalpaigri district, expressed his disappointment over the embassy's role in trying to rescue them despite being aware of their pitiable condition.

"We will try our best to get out from here as the situation is gradually deteriorating. We have received calls from some of our friends that they are already on the road desperately trying to leave Kiev," Biswas said. Apart from the three Bengali students, three other Indians are also in distressed condition in the bunker.Earlier, father of another student from Bengal stranded in Ukraine had alleged that the Centre-appointed officers there had not responded to their

SoS messages.