Indian Navy's INS Jalashwa arrives at Kochi Harbour with 698 evacuees from Maldives

The Indian Navy Ship (INS) Jalashwa arrived at the Kochi Harbour on Sunday morning with 698 Indians nationals who were stranded in the Maldives amid the Coronavirus lockdown. According to the Indian Navy, among the total evacuees, 595 are males and 103 are females, including 19 pregnant women. The ship had departed from Male, Maldives. 

This repatriation — 'Operation Samudra Setu' is part of the 'Vande Bharat Mission' that began on Thursday to bring stranded Indians back home from various countries like the UK, the UAE, the US, Maldives, Bahrain, and Singapore. The INS Jalashwa is the country's second-largest warship of 16,900-tonnes after aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The ship can carry a crew of around 800 to 1000 people. 

Read: INS Jalashwa sets sail from Male to Kochi with 698 Indians

'Operation Samudra Setu'

Indian Navy in an official statement on Tuesday said that three Naval warships have sailed out to bring back Indian citizens from Maldives and United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are stranded due to Coronavirus pandemic. These warships include INS Jalashwa, INS Magar and INS Shardul and these will return to Kochi.

INS Jalashwa was deployed off Mumbai coast, along with INS Magar, diverted for the Maldives on Monday night while INS Shardul was diverted to Dubai to evacuate the expatriates. INS Magar and INS Shardul are Southern Naval Command ships, while INS Jalashwa is from Eastern Naval Command. 

Read: INS Jalashwa gears up to receive Indian nationals to be evacuated from the Maldives

Read: INS Jalashwa enters Maldives' Male port to evacuate Indians stranded amid to Covid; WATCH

Read: INS Jalashwa in Bay of Bengal pays tribute to COVID-19 frontline workers