After the second batch of 246 Indian nationals stuck in war-torn Sudan arrived in Mumbai from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Thursday, a video showed an Indian Air Force (IAF) woman pilot helping a female passenger board the aircraft.
In a seven-second video shared by news agency ANI, Flight Lieutenant Har Raj Kaur Boparai, the first and only woman IAF pilot to fly the heavy-lift C-17 transport aircraft, can be seen holding an elderly woman’s hand as they walked up the plane’s slide.
According to an official statement, transport aircraft C-17, carrying 244 Indians from Jeddah, landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) at 3:14 pm. As many as 300 pre-packed snack boxes and refreshments were provided to the passengers upon arrival inside the Terminal building. The highest number of passengers (73) belonged to Gujarat, followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Navy is also engaged in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan. INS Teg evacuated 297 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah on Thursday. This was the second batch to arrive by the Navy’s warships at Jeddah. The first batch of 278 Indians was brought to Jeddah by INS Sumedha on Wednesday.