Before the first flight from Romania took off on Saturday, India's ambassador to Romania Rahul Shrivastava addressed the students inside the aircraft and in a poignant message told them to remember the day always whenever the students face any difficulty, going forward. Indian government chalked out an alternative route to bring students stranded in Ukraine after the airspace was shut off following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
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"I know you have come through a very long and arduous road journey. So the last thing in your mind is an announcement by an ambassador. You are in the last leg of the journey back home where your friend and families will be waiting with an open arm... Remember your friends who are still here. And when you talk to your friends who are still waiting for the evacuation, you should tell them, assure them that the entire government of India team is working day and night to evacuate everyone. And our mission is not complete until we take the last Indian out of Ukraine," the ambassador said.
Wishing a safe journey to the students, Srivastava said, "Remember this day, 26th February, whenever you feel difficulty in life. Everything will be fine." The Indian passengers on board the flight clapped and thanked the ambassador.
{{/usCountry}}Wishing a safe journey to the students, Srivastava said, "Remember this day, 26th February, whenever you feel difficulty in life. Everything will be fine." The Indian passengers on board the flight clapped and thanked the ambassador.
{{/usCountry}}This was the first flight of India's alternative evacuation plan for which the evacuees were taken to Bucharest. The flight will reach Mumbai at 9pm on Saturday. “Regarding evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, we are making progress. Our teams are working on the ground round the clock. I am personally monitoring. The first flight to Mumbai with 219 Indian nationals has taken off from Romania,” foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted.
Another evacuation flight will be returninhg to Dellhi on Sunday.