Special flight to bring back stranded Indians from Egypt

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Indian Government has made
arrangements for a special Air India flight to carry 300
Indians -- mainly women and children -- from Cairo, which has
been rocked by violent protests for the past few days, to
India.
The arrangement for the special flight was made at the
request of the Indian community in Egypt in view of the
prevailing situation there, the External Affairs Ministry said
in a statement here.
The arrangements are being coordinated by Indian
Ambassador R Swaminathan, officials said.
They said the Embassy officials are in touch with the
Ministry of External Affairs here, which is closely monitoring
the situation.
At least 100 people have been killed and hundreds
injured in the clashes. Around 1,000 people have been
arrested across the country since the protests broke out five
days ago against the Hosni Mubarak government.
The officials said most of the Indians are PIOs who
have settled in Egypt.
Indian Embassy has set-up a round-the-clock control
room.
The MEA had on Saturday issued a travel advisory asking
Indians to avoid non-essential travel to that country.
"The Embassy of India in Cairo is in touch with members
of the Indian community who are reported to be safe. There are
about 3600 People of Indian Origin (PIO) in Egypt, of which
some 2200 are in Cairo.
"In view of the prevailing situation in Egypt, Indian
nationals are advised to avoid non-essential travel to Egypt
for the present...," the advisory had said.
Meanwhile, Air India sources said a Boeing-747
aircraft is standing by to operate on the Mumbai-Cairo-Mumbai
sector to bring back stranded Indian passengers.
It will be operated depending on the time when the
curfew will be lifted in Cairo, the sources said.