Biman flies 337 Bangladeshis home today

Two special flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines will carry home today 337 Bangladeshis, who were evacuated recently from strife-torn Yemen and brought to south Indian port city of Kochi by two ships yesterday.

The first flight will reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 4:15am and the second one at 4:30am from Kochi, a four-hour flight from Dhaka. 

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will receive them at the airport, according to a foreign ministry statement yesterday.

An Indian Navy spokesman told our New Delhi correspondent, “The Bangladeshi nationals reached Kochi at around 1:30pm [local time] by two Indian passenger ships from Djibouti and were given a rousing welcome by Naval and Cochi Port Trust officials in the presence of Naval band."

Two warships of the Indian Navy escorted the ships -- MV Kavaratti and MV Corals -- carrying the Bangladeshis.

The 337 Bangladeshis reached Djibouti from Yemen on April 5 and departed from the African country on April 12.

Apart from the Bangladeshis, 65 Yemenis of Indian origin were in the two ships.

Talking to The Daily Star, Enamul Huq Chowdhury, minister (press) at Bangladesh High Commission in New

Delhi, said officials from Bangladesh mission in Mumbai were in the Indian capital to help coordinate onward travel of the Bangladeshis.

India had launched a massive air and sea evacuation operation late last month to bring back its nationals stranded in Yemen. India positively responded to Bangladesh's request to help it bring home the Bangladeshis stranded in the Middle Eastern country.

A total of 500 Bangladeshis have been relocated to the African country, Djibouti, from Yemen since April 3.

As India wrapped up its evacuation operation, Bangladesh plans to repatriate the remaining 136 Bangladeshis from Djibouti by a special Biman flight.

So far 26 expatriates have returned home from Yemen.