Israel-Iran war: first batch of evacuees to arrive in India on Thursday; Keralites trapped in Iran look for help

Amid the deepening war between Israel and Iran in West Asia, the first batch of Indians evacuated by the Central government will land in Delhi on Thursday.

The situation in Iran is worrying as Malayalis, who are trapped in that country and majority of whom are students, reached out to the Central and Kerala governments seeking help for their safe evacuation from the strife-torn country.

On the other side, Keralites who work in Israel are relatively in a safer position, and none of them approached Kerala or Central governments seeking evacuation help. Speaking to The Hindu, Tharish Rahman, coordinator of 12 Malayali students trapped in Kerman University of Medical Sciences in Iran, said all of them were safe as of Wednesday, as the Kerman region, which is around 1,200 km away from Tehran, had not witnessed any major attack so far.

However, the administration on Wednesday asked them to store essential foods such as water and dry fruits as the situation was getting worse by the day.

The students had been in touch with Indian embassy officials and Kerala government representatives. “We hope there would be an evacuation to the Armenian capital by road in two or three days and then an evacuation by air to India from Yerevan in Armenia,” said Mr. Rahman.

According to Ajith Kolassery, Chief Executive Officer of NoRKA-Roots, the field agency of the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NoRKA) in Kerala, apart from calls from the students trapped in Iran, workers trapped in an oil rig appealed to the State government to provide help.

“Besides, we believe that there would be a total of less than 50 people who belong to the floating population who reached the country as part of small business trips. In the case of Israel, there was no frenetic call seeking help from the State government, although we hope there would be around 10,000 Malayalis in that country,” said Mr. Kolassery.

According to Borgian Solomon, former joint secretary of the Israel Malayali Association who has been working in Israel for the past 17 years, 12 Keralites had a narrow escape near Rehovot as a missile launched by Iran directly hit the flat they were staying in. They had moved to the bunker of the building when the air raid siren was sounded.

Shortly after they moved into the bunker, the missile struck the flat, destroying the building completely. But this was an isolated incident. Civilians in Israel are relatively safe, as hardly four to five missiles break the Iron Dome’s defensive shield when hundreds of missiles are launched into the country by Iran.

In case the missiles get past the defensive shield, sirens will be emitted across the city, giving four to minutes for the citizens to move into the bunkers.

“This is enough for the people to move to safe locations, as there are plenty of bunkers under all the buildings. Moreover, hardly any missile struck the inhabited areas in our city,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Resident Commissioner at Kerala House in New Delhi was instructed to provide necessary facilities for returning Keralites.

Accommodation will be provided at the Kerala House for Keralites arriving in Delhi. After this, they will be sent to the State as soon as flights become available. He also said Malayalis wishing to come to Kerala should register their names on the helpline number of the NoRKA Global Contact Centre (Norka Global Contact Centre: 18004253939 (toll-free number), +918802012345 (international missed call).

Published - June 18, 2025 08:45 pm IST