Indian Students who arrived in New Delhi early this morning from Tehran under India's Op Sindhu for safe evacuation of its nationals, recalled horror of Iran-Israel conflict while terming the situation 'petrifying'.
"We saw missiles in the sky and heard bombs in our neighbourhood... We were petrified," said MBBS student Mir Khalif, his voice still trembling with fear, as he stepped out of the Delhi airport after being evacuated from Tehran.Khalif arrived in the national capital early Thursday in the first evacuation flight carrying 110 Indian students of the Urmia University of Medical Sciences in Iran's Urmia city as part of the special operation launched by the Indian government in response to the escalating Iran-Israel conflict.
The students, including 90 from Jammu and Kashmir, were moved from Tehran to Armenia earlier this week as explosions and aerial attacks rocked Iranian cities. The rescue was coordinated by the Indian Embassy.Khalif described the experience in Iran as a nightmare and thanked the Indian government for evacuating them first to Armenia and then bringing them back home."We saw missiles and heard bombings. It was a war zone. Our building shook during the attacks. I hope no student has to face what we did," he said.
"There are students still stuck in Iran. They are being relocated to safer places. We hope they will also be airlifted to India soon," he added.
Varta, a resident of Kashmir, recalled the fear she lived through."We were the first ones to be evacuated from Iran. The situation was quite critical. We were terrified. We thank the Indian government and the Indian Embassy, which worked swiftly to bring us here.
"Our neighbourhood was attacked. When the Indian government came to our doorstep, it felt like home," she told a news agency.
Huzaif Malik, another student from Kashmir said, "There are 90 of us from Kashmir.
"We saw a missile and a drone fall from the sky while travelling in a bus. Tehran is in ruins. The images on the news are real, the situation is very bad," he said.Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh reached the Delhi airport to receive the students.
Later, in a post on X, he said, "Warmly welcomed home the first group of 110 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu, reaffirming India's steadfast commitment to the safety and well-being of its citizens abroad." Singh also shared some photos of the arrival of Indian nationals at the airport. Singh confirmed that evacuation efforts under Operation Sindhu are ongoing, with more flights scheduled.
"We have planes ready. We will be sending another plane today. We are evacuating some more people from Turkmenistan. Our missions have opened 24-hour helplines for any request for evacuation. As the situation evolves, we will be sending more planes to evacuate Indian nationals," he said.The Union minister thanked the governments of Turkmenistan and Armenia for their support.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared some photos of the students on X.
"Operation Sindhu brings people home. 110 Indian students evacuated from Iran under Operation Sindhu have safely arrived in New Delhi on a special flight from Yerevan, Armenia. MoS KV Singh received them at the airport. Government of India remains committed to the safety of Indian nationals abroad," he posted.Officials on Wednesday said that the first evacuation flight of Indian nationals being moved out of Iran was to arrive in India from the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the early hours of June 19.
Meanwhile, at the Delhi airport, several parents waited anxiously to reunite with their children.The Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the evacuation.Taking note, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directed officials to ensure that the students are ferried in deluxe buses.
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