New Delhi, March 23: Around 600 Indians who have been stranded in coronavirus-hit Iran will be evacuated on March 24 and March 28. According to a tweet by ANI, the Indian authorities have permitted Mahan Airways, an Iranian airline, to evacuate as many as 600 Indians from Iran on the two days. Reports inform that all these Indian nationals have tested negative for COVID-19. Thousands of Indians, including pilgrims, fishermen and students are among the people stranded in Iran, which is believed to be the third largest centre of novel coronavirus infections after China and Italy. India Brings Back 900 Indian Citizens, 48 Foreign Nationals From COVID-19 Affected Countries.

On Sunday, a special Air India flight with 263 Indian evacuees from Italy landed at the IGI Airport in Delhi. All passengers were thermally scanned and then taken to the ITBP Chhawla Quarantine Facility in Delhi. The special Boeing  787-Dreamline, with 12 crew members, departed from Delhi at 2.30pm on Saturday and left Rome on Sunday morning.

Here's the tweet:

On March 16, the fourth batch of 53 Indians returned to India from Iran , taking the total number of people evacuated from the coronavirus-hit country to 389. All 53 Indians comprising of 52 students and a teacher- underwent preliminary screening at the airport before being sent to Army Wellness  Centre. On March 15, two Air India flights carrying over 230 Indians from Iran landed in India following which the passengers were quarantined at the Indian Army Wellness Centre at Jaisalmer. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the batch comprises 131 students and 103 pilgrims.

In the last few weeks, hundreds of Indians have been evacuated from Iran -- a Middle Eastern country which is among the worst affected countries with most cases and fatalities from coronavirus. Earlier this month, over 450 Indians were brought back by two flights and quarantined at separate facilities. Last month India airlifted around 647 students from China’s Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2020 05:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).