With the view of rescuing the 450 fishermen who stranded in Iran which has been encountering a drastic rise in the cases of Coronavirus, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has on Friday addressed to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar and sought the Center's help to expedite the process of bringing them back to India.

In his letter, the Chief Minister had highlighted that around 450 Indian fishermen including 300 from Tamil Nadu alone have been stranded in Port Kish, Cheeru, and other places in Iran. They are working in various fishing vessels operating in the various ports of Iran and they have been trapped up in the middle of the outbreak as the flights have been canceled due to the intense spread of the virus. Palaniswami stated that the fishermen had appealed to rescue from Iran immediately.

He further asked the External Affairs Minister to instruct the Indian Embassy in Tehran to provide the necessary and adequate support to the stranded fishermen and to initiate the arrangements to bring them back to India. The reports say that the Chief Minister had asked the Center to intervene one day after Iran reported with the drastic increase of deaths due to the Corona outbreak (COVID-19). 

The country has accounted for seven deaths in the last 24 hours and on Thursday, the country has confirmed that it houses over 100 confirmed cases in its territory. The rise in the number of cases has now made Iran the second country in the world with the highest number of Corona cases after China.

On February 25th, the Indian Embassy in Iran has advised the Indians living in the country that the Indian mission has been closely monitoring the situation in Iran. In its advisory, the Indian Embassy asked the Indian nationals to observe the instructions issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Iranian government. It also asked the Indians to maintain necessary hygiene and sanitation measures. By advising them to put on the masks, avoid getting into the crowds, the Indian Embassy has appealed to the Indians to remain calm and not ear the rumors.

The reports say that on Thursday, the Indian government has suspended all the flights from Iran and the country currently houses more than 250 Indian students and they have been stranded in the Iranian territory. Of those affected in Iran include the country's deputy health minister.