254 Bangladeshis return from India, Maldives and Turkey on special flights

A total of 254 Bangladeshis who were stranded in India, Maldives and Turkey for over a month, returned home today on three separate special flights.

Of the returnees, 164 Bangladeshis returned from India, 70 came from Maldives and 20 from Turkey, said officials of aviation security at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

After health screening, eight returnees from India and 12 from Turkey were sent to institutional quarantine at Ashkona Hajj Camp, Md Zahirul, a doctor at the HSIA health desk, said. The rest of the returnees were asked to self-isolate at home, he added.

The special chartered flight of US-Bangla Airlines carrying 164 passengers landed at HSIA around 3:05pm from Chennai, Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of the airlines, told The Daily Star.

Most of them went to India for treatment in Chennai, said officials of US-Bangla Airlines.

US-Bangla Airlines is scheduled to operate four more special flights till April 25 from Kolkata and Chennai to bring back Bangladeshis who are stranded in India.

Besides, a cargo aircraft C-130 of Bangladesh Navy carrying 70 Bangladeshis from the Maldives landed at HSIA around 5:30pm, said Group Captain Touhid-ul Ahsan, director, HSIA.

A special flight of Turkish Airlines today brought 20 stranded Bangladeshis to Dhaka from Turkey.