Stranded at Havelock Island in Andaman due to heavy rains & storm

TIL Desk/National/Port Blair/ The Indian Navy launched a rescue operation to evacuate almost 800 tourists stranded at Havelock Island in Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to heavy rains and a storm. Naval ships INS Bitra, Bangaram, Kumbhir and LCU 38 were deployed for evacuation and will ferry tourists to Port Blair.

The sudden evacuation mission was initiated at the request of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands disaster management, which speculates that a “cyclonic storm” might strike Havelock, an island about 36 km from capital Port Blair.

“There is a deep depression (in the sea) about 310 kms from Port Blair. That is why the Navy was contacted as we don’t want to take any chances,” an official from Directorate of Disaster Management. The official said that because of heavy rains and winds, the difficulty tourists are facing is to reach the jetty to board the ships. “We can’t say as of now that the depression will turn into a cyclone,” the official said.

They expect the evacuation to be completed by the evening, he said. Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma said the ships were in the area and that there was a bad sea state. He said the ships departed from Port Blair around 0315 hours onwards.