Navy sends 4 ships to rescue 1,400 stranded tourists in Andamans

Around 1,400 tourists are stranded at Havelock and Neil islands in the Andamans owing to cyclonic weather conditions and four ships have been pressed into service by the Navy on Wednesday to evacuate them.

The two islands, about 40km from Port Blair, have been hit the most by the cyclonic weather conditions caused by a severe depression over southeast Bay of Bengal which led to heavy rainfall, strong wind and rough sea conditions, officials said. The administration has already declared the cyclonic weather as ‘L1 Disaster’.

Neil and Havelock are two of the most popular tourist attractions in Andamans and the only means of transportation from them are vessels and choppers which have stopped operation since Monday last owing to bad weather.

“Around 1,400 tourists, who had visited the islands, are now stranded and unable to return to Port Blair to fly back home,” South Andaman’s deputy commissioner Udit Prakash Rai said.