Mumbai: Notwithstanding the bombardment and intermittent firing at Port of Aden and Yemenis jostling with Indians to find entry on rescue ships, the Navy pulled off the high-stake mission by prioritising the safety of fellow countrymen while evacuating them from the strife-torn country.
"Our principles of operation were very clear - 'Indians First, Others later' and 'No Indians, No Rescue'. When many people approached us (for evacuation) we told them Indians would be rescued first," said Captain Pradeep Singh, Commanding Officer of 'INS Tarkash', one of the vessels deployed in the operation.
He said many a times Yemeni people, desperately wanted to be rescued, tried to obstruct Indian nationals from boarding the vessels, but the Navy kept its foot down saying its priority is to evacuate Indian compatriots.
The Navy also rescued over 1200 foreign nationals during the risky operation.
Another Naval officer said the process of taking people onboard the ships was a real challenge for the men in white.
"There was continuous bombardment and intermittent firing (going on) at the Port of Aden so we kept our ships two kilometres away from the port," said Captain Rajesh Dhankar, Commanding Officer of 'INS Mumbai'.
He said the evacuees used to come into batches on small boats to board the ships.
Another officer said they realised about the threat posed by firing at the Port of Aden when they saw a merchant vessel being attacked while approaching the port.
Singh said stranded people ,irrespective of their nationalities, started approaching the Indian ships as soon as they spotted them.
"Many rich locals were escorted by their security guards who were wielding assault rifles, (following which) we also had to showcase our might," Singh said.
He said the evacuees were warned against carrying guns on rescue vessels.
"We feel that guns should not be carried to attack us as India as a country and Indians in particular enjoyed a lot of goodwill in that country. Their (rich Yemenis') only aim was to get a forced entry on the ship," Singh said.
A Naval commando said communicating with Yemenis was
difficult since they could not understand English. "To overcome this some of the evacuees were asked to act as interpreters," he said.
Describing the scene at ports of Aden and Al Hodeidah, an officer said though the Indian ships did not go close to these ports they could hear intermittent shelling and bombing.
"We used to see smoke billowing from one place or the other," the officer said.
Explaining the rescue process, an officer said the vacuees were first asked to produce passport and in case it was not available they were asked to submit its photocopy.
"In one case, a person did not have any documents so we quizzed him briefly (within 30 seconds) and later matched his details with the details available in the embassy," the officer added.
The crew members today received kudos from Naval chief Admiral R K Dhowan for their efforts.
Commander R V Subramanian said another challenge was to follow screening and checking procedures as Navy wanted to ensure that nobody without valid proof board the ships.
"In a situation where a boat carrying 12-15 people and around 15 such boats are approaching you, one had to be quick in the screening procedure," he said.
The officer recalled a heart-rending incident wherein a child (not Indian) was taken aboard, but due to lack of valid papers he was sent back even as his parents were struck in some different ports.
"We would love to help people but we had so stop and say no beyond a point, irrespective of how painful it is," Subramanian said, adding that he was part of the team that carried the coffin of Manjeet Singh--a Haryana resident who died in the bombing--on board the Indian Ship.
