Indian Civilian Evacuation From Wartorn Yemen

BarfBag · Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:46 pm

Over the past week, the Indian government has deployed AI and IAF aircraft, as well as 5 IN ships, including two warships, the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai and a stealth FFG, the INS Tarkash, to evacuate over 4500 Indian citizens working in Yemen. AI has deployed two A320s and a B777. As of today, the operation should be almost complete:

By sea, by air, by rail: How India is pulling off one of its biggest rescue missions abroad

Twitter feed of MoD spokesperson Sitanshu Kar:
https://twitter.com/SpokespersonMoD/status/584879033436934144/photo/1
In addition to Indian nationals, citizens of the following nations have been evacuated on request:
https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/585045912294043648/photo/1

From the twitter feed of MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

[Edited 2015-04-06 10:53:22]

[Edited 2015-04-06 10:54:00]

LFutia · Mon Apr 06, 2015 8:34 pm

How does Yemen ask for evacuating its own citzens out of the country?

Leo/ORD

prebennorholm · Mon Apr 06, 2015 11:04 pm

Good Job!!!

A big thank you should be heard from 23 countries around the globe.

dtw2hyd · Mon Apr 06, 2015 11:24 pm

Quoting LFutia (Reply 1):
How does Yemen ask for evacuating its own citzens out of the country?

According to Indian Ministry of External Affairs those were medical emergencies.

United787 · Tue Apr 07, 2015 12:48 am

Impressive operation! Nice to see something positive come out of India on this website...

BarfBag · Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:10 am

More updates from this:

Indian nationals boarding INS Mumbai, a Delhi-class guided missile destroyer in Djibouti

AI B777 taking off from Sanaa airport, with RuAF IL-62 in foreground

The person in upper left picture, seen in other images, is retired Gen.V.K.Singh, a former 4-star General and Chief of Army Staff, currently the Minister of State for External Affairs, who was on the ground in Yemen coordinating evacuation.

US embassy circular in Yemen, advising US nationals to evacuate via Indian facilities:

dtw2hyd · Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:17 pm

CNN report

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/.../pkg-elbagir-sanaa-evacuations.cnn

BarfBag · Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:42 pm

Twitter feed updates:

More from the ANI feed:
ANI ‏@ANI_news 1h1 hour ago
We really appreciate this a lot: British national evacuated from Yemen by Air India #YemenEvacuation

ANI @ANI_news · 1h 1 hour ago
Everything was so easy for me even though I am a Yemeni, want to thank the Indian Govt: Sana, evacuated from Yemen

ANI @ANI_news · 1h 1 hour ago
Appreciate this a lot, cant thank Indian Govt enough to get us out of Yemen: Northern Ireland national evacuated

ANI @ANI_news · 1h 1 hour ago
Indian Govt saved our life, we will remember this through our life: Bangladeshi national evacuated from Yemen

ANI @ANI_news · 1h 1 hour ago
Air India did a fantastic job: Bangladeshi national evacuated from Yemen

dtw2hyd · Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:16 pm

Nice pic taken at Djibouti

aarbee · Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:28 pm

Quoting BarfBag (Reply 5):
The person in upper left picture, seen in other images, is retired Gen.V.K.Singh, a former 4-star General and Chief of Army Staff, currently the Minister of State for External Affairs, who was on the ground in Yemen coordinating evacuation.

Also in the 2nd pic , gentleman in shades and a vest near the bottom the stairs by Air India aircraft.

BarfBag · Wed Apr 08, 2015 6:21 pm

According to India Today, the Indian relief operations began after PM Narendra Modi called the Saudi ruler King Salman to request their clearance, and the latter helped ensure that the Indian operations could work within the Saudi-imposed no-fly zone unhindered. However, India had to separately negotiate with the Houthis, who obviously don't like the Saudis and therefore required separate assurances so that neither side would shoot at us. However, our ships and aircraft still came under stray fire, according to reports. ROEs forbade Indian warships from firing their sizeable weaponry unless shot at themselves, and left with no option but to return fire in self defense. The operation was made even more tricky because India agreed to also evacuate European and US nationals, whom the rebels may not have been unhappy to get their hands on themselves.

aarbee · Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:07 pm

Quoting dtw2hyd (Reply 6):

CNN report

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/.../pkg-elbagir-sanaa-evacuations.cnn

Hmm! head line says "struggles" ...

US State dept is suggesting US citizens to use the Indian opportunity to evacuate and CNN describes it "struggling" , Amusing

-R

dtw2hyd · Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:28 pm

Quoting aarbee (Reply 11):
CNN describes it "struggling"

CNN always struggles with shortened headlines.

BBC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZxROQCTIp4

DD News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHL4U3z6jnQ

dtw2hyd · Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:27 pm

Washington post article

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...luding-americans-trapped-in-yemen/

BarfBag · Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:20 pm

The rescue operations are almost complete. This is the 4th major international rescue operation conducted by India this decade, after Libya (11,000 evacuated in 2011, 3000+ in 2014) 3500 from Iraq/ISIS in 2014, and now this.

A small note about the person who let the operations on the ground in Yemen, constantly in touch with New Delhi, Riyadh and the Houthi representatives: General Vijay Kumar Singh
* Minister of State for External Affairs
* Former 4 star Indian Army General and former Chief of Army Staff (CoAS)
* First commando to be elevated to CoAS
* Graduated from Defence Services Staff College
* Graduated from US Army Infantry School, US Army Ranger School, and US Army War College

IAF reports that their three Globemasters have put in 150 flight hours in the last few days, repeatedly doing Sanaa/Djibouti-Mumbai flights.

JetBuddy · Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:29 pm

Very impressive effort by the Indian government and everyone involved. Much respect for evacuating not only Indian nationals, but foreigners and people from all religious backgrounds.

ytz · Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:37 pm

Impressive to see India deploy those C-17s. India's projection capabilities are truly maturing.

dtw2hyd · Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:13 pm

Final stats

Over 5600 evacuated
18 flights
4640 Indians
960 foreign nationals from 41 countries.
26 countries officially requested, others contacted Indian Embassy by themselves or showed at airport.

Last day AI operated three flights evacuating 560.

India closed Embassy in Yemen.

Youngest evacuee 3 day old premature baby in incubator

[Edited 2015-04-09 16:19:09]

32andBelow · Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:15 pm

Quoting BarfBag (Reply 14):
General Vijay Kumar Singh

Really? During Masters week?

BarfBag · Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:03 am

Quoting 32andBelow (Reply 18):
Really? During Masters week?

I don't even know what you're talking about.

JOYA380B747 · Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:25 am

Quoting BarfBag (Reply 19):
Quoting 32andBelow (Reply 18):
Really? During Masters week?

I don't even know what you're talking about.

I do

BLRAviation · Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:44 am

Quoting dtw2hyd (Reply 17):
Youngest evacuee 3 day old premature baby in incubator

Truly a remarkable achievement. Where did you get these pictures from. If nothing else, I would like to take their permission and publish it for the world to see.

Why doesn't AI corp comm use this to show what it positive it does? Truly baffling.

Quoting dtw2hyd (Reply 6):
http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/468724770-picture-taken-on-april-6-2015-shows-an-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=GkZZ8bf5zL1ZiijUmxa7QZ6n%2fOpxc%2f8jqw7S2JdjwTJRsYENpRb3R%2b%2fjJmG3FtQg7XSNIoK5DChCEaNoQ1orjw%3d%3d
AI B777 taking off from Sanaa airport, with RuAF IL-62 in foreground

Boss that is NOT a B777. Appears to be an A321. Would be interesting to ask spotters, other than the length, how can you differentiate an A320 from an A321 from behind?

DALCE · Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:03 pm

Why on earth does AI let 240 people on board an Airbus 321 with only 180 seats.
If demand is that big, put larger equipment on these rescue-missions.
This is ridiculous and dangerous to put 60 people more on board than seats available.
They should be grounded immediately! Flight safety must be honoured, no matter what the urgence is! Especially since AI should have larger equipment available any time of the day!

Great effort on the other hand to evacuate so many people in such a short time, I really do have respect for that.

dtw2hyd · Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:05 pm

Quoting BLRAviation (Reply 21):
Truly a remarkable achievement. Where did you get these pictures from. If nothing else, I would like to take their permission and publish it for the world to see.

It was on Indian MEA spokesperson's twitter account @MEAIndia. There is another one on Indian DoD spokesperson's twitter account. I don't think you need permission to use it.

Quoting BLRAviation (Reply 21):
Why doesn't AI corp comm use this to show what it positive it does? Truly baffling.

Worldwide internet search engines are setup to show only negative news on top. I guess it really doesn't matter.

[Edited 2015-04-10 05:18:59]

dtw2hyd · Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:52 pm

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
Why on earth does AI let 240 people on board an Airbus 321 with only 180 seats.

There is separate thread for this. If you are talking about 240 x 300 lb persons, you have a point. Most of the are kids weighing less than 50 lbs, sitting on their parents lap.

See pic in #7.

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
If demand is that big, put larger equipment on these rescue-missions.

What if the B777 has an engine issue at Sanaa, you have to send another IL-76 with replacement engine. Logistics are much simpler for A320.

You are ignoring the fact there is no else to help IAF, AI and IN. Boeing, Airbus, GE or your outsourced MRO vendor is not going to send an AOG team to Sanaa.

What if they are shot at. They have 3 hr window. Having multiple small aircraft minimizes risk.

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
This is ridiculous and dangerous to put 60 people more on board than seats available.

It is not if you know what you are doing and have engineering talent.

If you are the type who calls a 800 number for everything than you are correct.

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
They should be grounded immediately! Flight safety must be honoured, no matter what the urgence is! Especially since AI should have larger equipment available any time of the day!

AI has been doing this for 20+ years. Add IAF's excellent logistics capabilities, it is as smooth as any routine commerical flight. Clearly evident from video testimonials from evacuees.

BTW do you know how NK A321s are configured?

BarfBag · Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:03 pm

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
Why on earth does AI let 240 people on board an Airbus 321 with only 180 seats.
If demand is that big, put larger equipment on these rescue-missions.
This is ridiculous and dangerous to put 60 people more on board than seats available.
They should be grounded immediately! Flight safety must be honoured, no matter what the urgence is! Especially since AI should have larger equipment available any time of the day!

Here we go again.

pvjin · Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:16 pm

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):

Who cares, seats and seatbelts are overrated. I would fly domestic flights in a cargo bay of AN-12 if the price was right.

sturmovik · Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:33 pm

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):

It is difficult to estimate 'demand' for a mission like this. Apparently, for most people, it was more difficult to get to the airport than to get to Djibouti. And it's a warzone, with people shooting you on the streets and planes bombing you from the sky. I'll take the odds of a safety mishap due to an overloaded A320 any day over that..

BarfBag · Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:41 pm

http://news.yahoo.com/india-ends-yem...-countries-090149593--finance.html
India ends Yemen evacuation, rescues people from 41 countries
India has won many friends by evacuating nearly 1,000 nationals of 41 countries from warring Yemen, with the operation led by an irascible former general coming as a welcome moment of pride for a nation that aspires to emerge as a global player.

Foreign office minister V.K. Singh returned to a hero's welcome on Friday, having joined several Air India flights into the Yemeni capital Sanaa to evacuate people from the conflict there to Djibouti.

"The bombings are still on," the former army chief of staff told reporters at Delhi airport. "There was trouble in evacuating them, yet we did our task."

For those complaining here about 'minister and press taking up seats on the flight' they were on the last flight out.

aarbee · Fri Apr 10, 2015 6:25 pm

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):

Why on earth does AI let 240 people on board an Airbus 321 with only 180 seats.
If demand is that big, put larger equipment on these rescue-missions.

As Orla Guerin mentions in the video http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32216712 they gave 30 mins on the airport for the flight .

BarfBag · Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:57 pm

Those who complain about the seating are quite clueless about what was happening on the ground. There was a shooting war going on around, right outside the damn airport. Every flight had to be individually negotiated to safety in Djibouti. That's why Gen. Singh shows up talking on the phone in so many Reuters/AP pictures.

Any assurances we got from the Saudis are completely useless against the Houthis, and vice versa. In fact, if we weren't careful, they'd have shot down something out of spite, simply because we didn't take the time to talk to both parties with equal respect, and the Arabs are very sensitive about the whole face thing, especially when they're quite angry and busy fighting.

To top it all, we were saddled with the citizenry of more than three dozen nations, several of whom aren't necessarily on happy terms with the Houthis. They are Iran government backed. The same folks who encourage 'Death to America!' rageboys. They'd have been very happy to get hold of some Europeans and Americans to parade around. You guys think they were happy to see us evacuate them all ?

Instead we have busybodies wagging fingers in our face caterwauling 'bad bad India! you seated more people than there are seatbelts!' Well, you know what ? Go to France or Germany or wherever these evacuees are from, and canvas their support to punish us severely for our grave mistake for saving their lives in this horrible manner. Good luck avoiding a slap from them.

dtw2hyd · Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:29 pm

NDTV Report

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/new...er-air-india-s-yemen-heroes/363247

Gr8Circle · Sun Apr 12, 2015 7:29 pm

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
Why on earth does AI let 240 people on board an Airbus 321 with only 180 seats.
If demand is that big, put larger equipment on these rescue-missions.
This is ridiculous and dangerous to put 60 people more on board than seats available.
They should be grounded immediately! Flight safety must be honoured, no matter what the urgence is! Especially since AI should have larger equipment available any time of the day!

Whoa! Such a completely clueless comment.....you seem to be following the standard AI bashing routine of a.netters even when reading a thread about such a risky and heroic mission....duh!

Congratulations to AI, the IAF and the Govt. of India for such an excellent job of protecting it's own citizens.....

DIJKKIJK · Sun Apr 12, 2015 8:13 pm

Quoting BarfBag (Reply 30):
Instead we have busybodies wagging fingers in our face caterwauling 'bad bad India! you seated more people than there are seatbelts!' Well, you know what ? Go to France or Germany or wherever these evacuees are from, and canvas their support to punish us severely for our grave mistake for saving their lives in this horrible manner. Good luck avoiding a slap from them.

You really shouldn't take the armchair chatterboxes on this forum seriously.

People who know what they are talking about fully appreciate what the Indian government has done. The rest of the clowns neither deserve attention nor respect.

BLRAviation · Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:58 pm

Quoting dtw2hyd (Reply 17):
Youngest evacuee 3 day old premature baby in incubator

Quoting DALCE (Reply 22):
Why on earth does AI let 240 people on board an Airbus 321 with only 180 seats.
If demand is that big, put larger equipment on these rescue-missions.
This is ridiculous and dangerous to put 60 people more on board than seats available.
They should be grounded immediately! Flight safety must be honoured, no matter what the urgence is! Especially since AI should have larger equipment available any time of the day!

I think this video will answer a lot of your questions. http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/new...er-air-india-s-yemen-heroes/363247

TheSonntag · Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:37 pm

Impressive action.

It seems that there are things going on "behind the scenes" involving other nations as well, who are normally taking part in the ATALANTA mission, but who seem to be on guard right now, closely watching the situation in Yemen. Getting out ASAP is probably a good idea.

Just one question - why is there such a huge indian involvement - are there so many indian people present in yemen, and if so, why?

BestWestern · Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:59 pm

Air Asia X Indonesia has also joined the evacuation moving pax to Oman.

Quoting TheSonntag (Reply 35):
re there so many indian people present in yemen, and if so, why?

Mainly Male Indian labour, typically, foreign doctors, nurses, professors, engineers and technicians - a very different type of expat indian to other gulf states.

The total expatriate population in Yemen was estimated to be 26,000, of which the Indians form the biggest group (around 5000), followed by Egyptians, Indonesians, Pakistanis, Chinese and Filipinos.

http://moia.gov.in/writereaddata/pdf/pr_dep_yemen.pdf

prebennorholm · Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:37 pm

Quoting TheSonntag (Reply 35):
Just one question - why is there such a huge indian involvement - are there so many indian people present in yemen, and if so, why?

Yemen/India relations date back a few centuries, both being part of the British Empire.

All way through 19th century and well into 20th century there were close ralations between Yemen and India. 60 years ago there still were a dozen Hindu temples in Yemen.

Yeminity societies in India count a few hundred thousand people today.

That made it obvious that the desparate need for educated expatriates in Yemen today made a response from India. Yemen having one of he world's worst education systems, and India lots of pretty well educated people in need of a job.

Oil paid the system, but now oil money goes to the war.

TheSonntag · Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:09 pm

Quoting prebennorholm (Reply 37):

Quoting bestwestern (Reply 36):

Thank you for your explanations.

bennett123 · Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:15 pm

I would have thought that neither the Saudi Govt or the Southi Govt/Iranian Govt would want to parade Westeners.

For example, there was a US airliners that had to land in Iran a few years ago. I am sure that Iran sent them on their way without any problems.

However, you only need a few idiots in the lower ranks.

dtw2hyd · Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:54 am

Air Asia X's PK-XRC did a charter between SLL(Oman) and CKG(Indonesia). Not an evacuation out of Yemen.

ytz · Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:39 pm

Quoting BarfBag (Reply 30):
Instead we have busybodies wagging fingers in our face caterwauling 'bad bad India! you seated more people than there are seatbelts!' Well, you know what ? Go to France or Germany or wherever these evacuees are from, and canvas their support to punish us severely for our grave mistake for saving their lives in this horrible manner. Good luck avoiding a slap from them.

Quoting DIJKKIJK (Reply 33):
You really shouldn't take the armchair chatterboxes on this forum seriously.

People who know what they are talking about fully appreciate what the Indian government has done. The rest of the clowns neither deserve attention nor respect.

I was involved in planning the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. We faced similar constraints. Fully appreciative of what the IAF, IN, IA and their contracted lift (AI) may be experiencing.

I wouldn't take the natterings of some here very seriously. They have no idea what's involved in military operations. And AI operating an evac flight is not an AI flights. It's contracted military airlift operating under military flying regulations, where operational necessity can supercede safety regulations.

BLRAviation · Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:36 am

Quoting YTZ (Reply 41):

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