The High Commission of India in the Maldives has announced an additional 588 Indians have been repatriated from the Maldives via the Indian naval ship, INS Jalashwa.
The Indian high commission had opened the opportunity for residents of the State of Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep to register for evacuation from the Maldives via INS Jalashwa, which returned to the Maldives after repatriating over 700 Indian nationals to Cochin on May 8. The high commission said 588 Indians have been repatriated today, bringing the total number of Indian nationals repatriated by sea to 1600.
The departing Indian nationals were taken to Velana International Airport (VIA) for verification of documents and luggage checking. They were taken from Male’ to VIA, and back to Male’, on buses carrying a maximum of 20 people each. They boarded the ship from Male’ Commercial Harbour.
Meanwhile, the Indian government is also working on repatriating more Indians on evacuation flights of Air India, operating from Male’ to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. However, the dates of these flights have not been announced.