Hundreds of stranded Indian students have been safely evacuated from war-zone Ukraine by the Indian embassy amid Russian invasion efforts in the country.
According to reports, the students were evacuated to Romania amid high security in a bus with an Indian flag outside the vehicle and a banner reading Indian students.
Taking a sigh of relief, a student after she was evacuated from Ukraine said that the Indian embassy has remained in constant touch with the students and assisted with all immigration, official work. They were evacuated amid full security, food and water were also provided, she said.
The students have been brought to Romanian capital Bucharest from where an Air India flight will get them back to India.
An Air India plane from Mumbai landed in the Romanian capital Bucharest on Saturday morning to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine.
The aircraft, AI1943, took off from the Mumbai airport around 3.40 AM (Indian Standard Time) and landed at the Bucharest airport around 10.
45 AM (Indian Standard Time), senior government officials said.
Indian nationals, who reached the Ukraine-Romania border by road, have been taken to Bucharest by the Indian government officials so that they can be evacuated in the Air India flight, they noted.
AI1943, which is being operated on Boeing 787 aircraft, can carry 256 passengers at a time, they said.
Air India will operate more flights on Saturday to Bucharest and Hungarian capital Budapest to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since the morning of February 24 and therefore, the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.
Around 20,000 Indians, mainly students, are currently stranded in Ukraine, the officials said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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