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

Preparations began on INS Jalashwa on Friday to receive the Indian nationals who will be evacuated from the Maldives under operation 'Samudra Setu'. The passengers are expected to board the ship shortly. INS Jalashwa on Thursday entered Male port for the first phase to repatriate Indians from the Maldives.

The 16,900-tonne INS Jalashwa, the country’s second-largest warship after aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, apart from its crew can carry around 8,00 to 1,000 people.

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Watch INS Jalashwa  preparations here

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 INS Jalashwa draws close to Male Port to evacuate Indians from Maldives.

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

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(With inputs from agency)