Eleven more students from Meghalaya arrived in Delhi from Ukraine: CM

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said 11 more students from the state, who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, have reached New Delhi, as part of the evacuation mission.

With their return, overall 12 students from the northeastern state have been evacuated so far.

"11 students of Meghalaya, who are studying in Ukraine, have reached Delhi safely. Efforts are on to get the rest of the students back home safely," Conrad said on Twitter.

Still, several students from the state remained stranded in the restive country, an official said.

Of the 12 students, Ishika Debnath, a resident of Laitumkhrah area in Shillong, had arrived here on Sunday after taking a flight from Ukraine's neighbour Romania.

Debnath, a student of Bukovanian State Medical University, had taken the flight after crossing the Ukraine-Romania border with the help of the Indian Embassy, her parents said.

She boarded a bus from her university and reached the border on February 24.

"We got off the bus and walked for around 4-5 km before crossing the border, and were then escorted to the airport," she said.

Debnath said she heaved a sigh of relief after finding her name in the second Indian Embassy list of 240 students who would be evacuated. "There were some Assam students from my batch, and I was the only one from Meghalaya," she said.

Chief Secretary R V Suchiang said the state government is in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the safe return of the remaining students.