Stranded tourists on Andaman islands being moved to safety

Three Indian Coast Guard Vessel today brought back 308 tourists, including 83 foreign nationals from Havelock Island to Port Blair. The tourists had been stranded for the last two days due to the inclement weather following formation of Cyclone Phethai.

According to Met office sources, a deep depression that developed to the west of Andamans on Friday had made it difficult for ships to sail, leaving thousands of tourists marooned on the two islands, which are about 30-40 nautical miles away from the capital city.

On Saturday, nearly 1,100 tourists were ferried safely to Port Blair from Havelock. Also, 135 people were moved from Neil to Havelock and 96 from Neil to Port Blair at night.

The Andaman and Nicobar administration had made suitable arrangements for flying back the tourists, the spokesman added. He said the evacuation measure is an ongoing process as the exact amount of stranded tourists is yet to be ascertained. He also said that the airlines which will be flying back the tourists to Chennai and other destinations, will not be charging extra after flight schedule of many got affected.