Rescued Andamans tourists on way home

KOLKATA: Nearly 1,000 tourists from Bengal, who were stranded on the Havelock Island and Neil Island in the Andamans after bad weather brought private ferry services to a stop, are safe. While many of them have returned home, some are awaiting flights from Port Blair. Several airlines cancelled flights to and from Port Blair due to the cyclonic storm, leading to a delay.

"Our officers are working closely with their counterparts in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. We have come to know that more than 600 tourists were rescued by naval ships from Havelock while the Coast Guard moved about 400 from Neil Island. We had spoken to the airlines and they have decided to reschedule their flights to ferry passengers to Kolkata. We are now speaking to Air India and they have promised to reschedule their flights. Some passengers have returned while others are preparing to leave Port Blair," Bengal tourism minister Goutam Deb said.
While Andamans & Nicobar Islands chief secretary Chetan B Sanghi confirmed that all tourists are safe, disaster management director Govind Ram said a large number of those rescued were from the state. Defence ministry sources said that nearly 1,800 tourists were rescued from the two islands over the weekend. While five Coast Guard ships participated in the rescue operations, there were two from the Navy.
"Due to the cyclonic storm, vessels of the A&N administration had stopped plying between Port Blair and Havelock and Neil since Thursday. We were then told to evacuate tourists as many had flights to the mainland. Our first ship reached the islands around 11am and the operation on Saturday continued till 2am. The Coast Guard alone rescued 707 people, including 48 foreigners. The sea was extremely rough and we had to deploy smaller vessels to land at the islands. On Sunday, the civil administration pressed some of its ships into service as the weather improved," DIG D S Saini, chief of staff, Coast Guard, A&N Region, told TOI.
The archipelago in the Bay of Bengal is a favourite destination for tourists from Bengal. Havelock and Neil Island are the primary attractions due to their pristine beaches. The most popular among these is Radhanagar Beach in Havelock that is considered one of the best in the world.