Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday assured that stranded tourists at Andaman’s Havelock Islands will be evacuated immediately once the storm is abated.
Speaking on the crisis, Rajnath Singh said rescue teams have been kept on standby at Port Blair to carry out the evacuation process. He appealed the family members of the 1,400 stranded tourists not to panic as everyone at the Havelock Islands are reported to be safe.
Spoke to Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dr. Jagdish Mukhi who apprised me of the situation in Havelock Islands.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016
All the tourists who are stranded in Havelock Island are safe. The government has made all the preparations to evacuate them.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016
The government will launch the rescue operations immediately after the intensity of the cyclone reduces. The teams are ready in Port Blair.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016
I appeal to the family members of stranded tourists that they should not panic as everyone in the Havelock Islands are reported to be safe.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016
Around 1,500 tourists are stranded at Havelock and Neil islands in the Andamans due to cyclonic weather conditions and four ships have been pressed into service by the Navy today to evacuate them.
The two islands, approximately 40 kilometres from Port Blair, have been hit the most by the cyclonic weather conditions caused by a severe depression over southeast Bay of Bengal which led to heavy rainfall, strong wind and rough sea conditions, officials said. The administration has already declared the cyclonic weather as ‘L1 Disaster’.
The Indian Navy on Wednesday swung into action to rescue the stranded tourists but heavy rains played spoilsport.
Havelock and Neil islands, approximately 40 kms from Port Blair, have been hit the most by the cyclonic weather conditions caused by a severe depression over southeast Bay of Bengal which led to heavy rainfall, strong wind and rough sea conditions, officials said.
Neil and Havelock are two of the most popular tourist attractions in Andamans and the only means of transportation from them are vessels and choppers which have stopped operation since Monday last due to bad weather.
South Andaman’s deputy commissioner Udit Prakash Rai had said on Wednesday, “About 1,400 tourists, who had visited the islands, are now stranded and unable to return to Port Blair to fly back home.”
The Navy has pressed in three ships to evacuate the tourists after the island’s civil administration telephonically requested the Centre for immediate help. Indian Navy ships INS Bitra, INS Bangaram, INS Kumbhir and LCU 38 sailed to Andaman to take part in the rescue operation. The evacuated tourists will be ferried to Port Blair.
