AN Indian Air Force aircraft with 246 Indians evacuated from war-torn Sudan landed in Mumbai on Thursday.

The plane, which took off from Jeddah around 11 am IST, landed here around 3.30 pm, an official said. “Our efforts to swiftly send Indians back home from Jeddah is paying. 246 Indians will be in Mumbai soon, travelling by IAF C17 Globemaster.

Happy to see them off at Jeddah airport,” tweeted Union minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan minutes before the plane left for Mumbai. Under ‘Operation Kaveri’, India has been taking its citizens in buses from conflict zones of Khartoum and other troubled areas to Port Sudan from where they are being taken to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah in Indian Air Force’s heavy-lift transport aircraft and Indian Navy’s ships. Situation in Sudan highly volatile: FS Kwatra: THE security situation in Sudan remains very complex, highly volatile and unpredictable and India’s objective is to get every stranded Indian in that country out of harm’s way, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said. Briefing reporters on the ongoing evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri’, Kwatra said approximately 1,700 to 2,000 Indian nationals were moved out of the conflict zones and they included the citizens already evacuated out of Sudan as well as those who are on their way to Port Sudan from capital city Khartoum.