698 repatriated Indians arrive from the Maldives on naval ship INS Jalashwa

Representational image of Western Fleet ships deployed in the Indian Ocean Region with INS Jalashwa | File photo: PTI

Kochi: INS Jalashwa carrying 698 repatriated Indian citizens from the Maldives arrived in Kochi harbour on Sunday morning, completing the Indian Navy’s first massive evacuation exercise from foreign soil during the COVID-19 lockdown, official sources said.

The passengers would disembark from the cruise terminal of Cochin Port Trust, they said.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare said all arrangements are in place to facilitate the safe stay of those repatriated, comprising 440 Keralites and people from other parts of the country.

Four passengers are from Lakshwadeep.

Besides these, the other passengers are from Tamil Nadu (187), Telganana (9), Andhra Pradesh (8), Karnataka (8), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan (3 each) and Goa (1), Assam (1).

There are seven passengers each from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, Delhi (4), Puducherry (3), while there are two passengers each from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, the sources said.