Two IAF planes land with 334 Indians from Yemen

Two Indian Air Force flights carrying 334 Indian nationals evacuated from Yemen landed in Mumbai on Friday night, the government has announced.

Two C 17 Globemaster transport planes, one carrying 179 Indians and the other carrying 155 people, landed in Mumbai past 11 p.m.

An Air India flight carrying 330 Indians is set to land at Kochi and Mumbai. The flight will arrive in India at around 1 a.m.

Defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted that both IAF flights have landed in Mumbai.

"They include persons evacuated by INS Sumitra," he posted.

The passengers were flown home from Djibouti, where the Indians were brought from Yemen.

Yemen has been engulfed by strife, as Shia Houthi rebels continue their advance against loyalists of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's loyalists who are supported by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes.

According to the UN, the two weeks of chaos in Yemen has killed at least 519 people, many civilians and children among them.A Another 1,700 people have been wounded over, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos, said in a statement Thursday.

With the violence increasing, India on Friday stepped up its evacuation. It began evacuating its nationals by air from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a Aas two Air India flights took off with 351 Indians to Djibouti. The air flights got clearance on Friday.

Indian naval ship INS Sumitra reached neighbouring Djibouti with 306 Indians who boarded the waiting C 17 Globemasters to be flown back to India.