New Delhi: The Indian Air Force on Saturday brought back 629 evacuated Indian nationals from Ukraine's neighbouring countries Romania, Slovakia and Poland as part of the ongoing 'Operation Ganga'.
"Three C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF, which had taken off from Hindan Airbase on Friday, landed back to the base on Saturday morning with the evacuated Indians," an official release stated.
"They had carried 16.5 tonnes of relief material on the outbound journey," IAF Tweeted. So far, the IAF has flown 10 flights to bring back 2,056 passengers while taking 26 tonnes of relief load to these three countries.
Earlier in the day, another batch of 229 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine arrived in New Delhi from Romania's Suceava as part of the ongoing 'Operation Ganga' in a special Indigo flight.
Union Minister of State L Murugan received students at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Earlier in the day, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan informed that over 11,000 Indians have so far been evacuated from Ukraine.
The government had also deployed 'special envoys' to four neighbouring countries bordering Ukraine to coordinate and oversee the evacuation process of Indian nationals. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 16 flights were scheduled which include Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft under Operation Ganga.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
Read:Over 11,000 Indian nationals evacuated from Ukraine so far: MoS Muraleedharan
