Back70 stranded Gujarat sailors leave crisis-hit Yemen
The Vahanvatta Association of Kutch and Mandav chief Haji Juneja said that the sailors are likely to come to India either from Oman or from Somalia
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Ahmedabad: A total of 70 sailors from Gujarat, stranded in Yemen for over two weeks, sailed out from the war-torn country but cannot be contacted since they crossed the danger zone, the chief of the state-based sailors’ association said on Thursday. “Our 70 sailors had left Yemen yesterday (Wednesday) along with their five cargo boats. They have come out of danger zone, but since then they were not in our contact despite various attempts," said Haji Juneja, chief of the Vahanvatta Association of Kutch and Mandavi.
“Last night, I had talked with one of the sailors, but later they are not in our contact and we did not know where they are heading towards at present," he said. Juneja said all the sailors were safe until last night when he talked with one of them as they sailed out of the danger zone. “As per my telephonic talk with one of the 70 sailors, they had left Khokha Port of Yemen as there was a ceasefire between the rebels and the pro-government army as this month is observed as month of Haj pilgrimage," he added.
According to Juneja, the seamen are likely to come either from Oman or from Somalia to India. The sailors, hailing from Kutch and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat, had gone to Yemen to unload their cargo ships but got stuck there for over a fortnight. Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said on Tuesday that she had talked with the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on the issue. However, opposition Congress accused the state and the Union governments of not making proper arrangements for safe evacuation of the stranded seamen.
Yemen has been facing a civil war-like situation with Shia rebels clashing with pro-government forces. United Nations estimates that more than 4,500 people have been killed in the conflict since March. The external affairs ministry had on 11 September said that six Indians were killed after their boat came under Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen on 8 September. The deceased were among seven Indian nationals who were initially reported missing when two boats, “Mustafa" and “Asmar", carrying a total of 21 Indian nationals, came under the aerial attack. The ministry had said that of the remaining 15 Indians, 14 were safe in Hodeidah while one person was still missing. It had added that local authorities were being contacted to ascertain his whereabouts.
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