An Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, that carried 58 Indian pilgrims who were stranded in Iran, has on Tuesday landed at the Hindon airforce base in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. These 58 are among thousands of Indians who have been stranded in Iran as the Gulf country has been reporting with soaring high cases of the Coronavirus, the global pandemic that has been threatening the global countries, making India unexceptional.

Iran has become one of the worst-hit countries of the virus as according to the latest reports, the country has reported with around 7,000 positive cases and about 237 people have lost their lives. The country houses about 2,000 Indian nationals in its territory and after having been coming through the uncertain developments, these people were stranded in the country. The two airlines - Iran Air and Mahan Air have suspended its flights to New Delhi and Mumbai since February 28th amid the outbreak, after India has prohibited the flights from Iran as a part of a precautionary measure.

With the view of rescuing stranded Indians from Iran, a C-17 Globemaster, which is a military transport aircraft in the fleet of Indian Air Force, had airlifted to Tehran on Monday evening along with a medical team. The aircraft landed at the Hindon airforce base on Tuesday morning with 58 first batch of Indians onboard. The aircraft touched the runway around 10 am and the reports say that the evacuees will be placed under quarantine for at least 14 days at a medical facility that has been installed in the airforce base following which they will be allowed to travel to their respective states.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has tweeted that "The IAF aircraft has landed. Mission completed. On to the next. Thanks to the efforts of our Embassy @India_in_Iran and Indian medical team there, operating under challenging conditions. Thank you @IAF_MCC. Appreciate the cooperation of Iranian authorities. We are working on the return of other Indians stranded there." Earlier he tweeted "First batch of 58 Indian pilgrims being brought back from #Iran. IAF C-17 taken off from Tehran and expected to land soon in Hindon."

The reports stated that on March 6th, the swab samples of 300 Indians stranded in Iran were brought to India and based on the samples, only people who have tested negative for the virus had rescued on Tuesday. While 58 have been rescued, Iran still has about 1,200 Indians in its territory. According to the reports, the patients tested positive with the virus cannot be transported.

First batch of 58 Indian pilgrims being brought back from #Iran. IAF C-17 taken off from Tehran and expected to land soon in Hindon. pic.twitter.com/IqZ8NUK1M6

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 10, 2020

The mission of rescuing Indians from Iran is second such evacuation missions carried out by the Indian government since the virus has become a global pandemic. On February 27th, about 76 Indians and 36 foreign nationals were brought to India through an IAF aircraft from the Chinese city of Wuhan, which is the epicenter of the virus. On February 1st, an Air India aircraft has carried 324 Indians from Wuhan.