Indian Navy to Rescue 800 tourists stranded in Andaman: Rajnath Singh

Expressing concern over the stranded tourists, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the Government will immediately launch the rescue operations after the intensity reduces.

New Delhi, Dec 8: Nearly 800 tourists remained stranded at Neil and Havelock islands of the Andaman and Nicobar, after Navy ships failed to dock because of heavy swells formed due to the depression over southeast Bay of Bengal on Wednesday.

Expressing concern over the stranded tourists, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the Government will immediately launch the rescue operations after the intensity of the cyclone reduces. He further said that all the stranded tourists are safe and that the government has made all the preparations to evacuate them.

Indian naval ships Bitra, Bangaram, Kumbhir and LCU 38 have been deployed for evacuation, which has not yet begin because of "unfavourable conditions". All the four ships will assist in ferrying stranded tourists from Havelock to Port Blair.

On Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Jagdish Mukhi held a high-level meeting with the local administration and took stock of the situation and relief work. He had also has asked the tourists to stay indoors until the rescue team can go and evacuate them.

OneIndia News