Thiruvananthapuram: After a five-hour journey through the war- ravaged Libya, the first batch of 58 nurses reached the Tunisian border from Tripoli on Friday.
According to reports received by Non-Resident Keralite Affairs Department (NORKA), the nurses were taken in a bus to Tunisia following instructions given by the Ministry of External Affairs to the Indian embassy.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was in constant touch with the representatives of the nurses throughout to ensure that they didn’t face any difficulty during their 350- km journey from Tripoli to Tunis.
The second batch comprising 48 Malayali nurses is expected to reach Tunis shortly taking the total number of nurses to be evacuated to 108.
The Chief Minister has sent a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj requesting her to direct the officials to arrange a special aircraft for evacuating the nurses and other Indians from Tunisa.
Officials said since taking scheduled flights from Tunisia to reach home would delay the nurses’ return by at least five to ten days, the best option would be to arrange a special flight.
The embassy is exploring the possibility of arranging flights either from Carthage International Airport in Tunis or Djerba Zarzis International Airport.
“We are making all efforts for the safe and early return of nurses from Libya. As of today 281 people have registered their names with us for return and they are from various parts of Libya, including Tripoli and Benghazi. The list of Malayalis who want to return is being dispatched promptly to Indian embassy for making further arrangements,’’ NORKA CEO P. Sudip told DC.
Meanwhile, Arun Prasad, brother of one of the nurses working in Al Khadra hospital in Tripoli, said that the hospital management had taken away the passports of 30 nurses.
“They have informed us that the management has promised to return the passport by Sunday.’’ he added.
