Evacuated Indian students reach home from Iran amid conflict, share tales of fear and relief

The first batch of Indian students evacuated from Iran under Operation Sindhu returned home to a mix of relief and trauma on Thursday, recounting their harrowing experience in the conflict-stricken region.

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

A total of 110 students, most of them from Jammu and Kashmir, arrived at the Delhi airport in the early hours aboard a special flight from Yerevan, Armenia.

Mir Khalif, a medical student from Urmia University of Medical Sciences, was among the first to step out. His voice shook as he described the ordeal. "We saw missiles in the sky and heard bombs nearby. We were petrified," he said after landing. "The building where we stayed would tremble during the attacks. It felt like being in the middle of a battlefield."

The students had been relocated to Armenia earlier this week following a series of aerial strikes that impacted several Iranian cities. The rescue was orchestrated by the Indian Embassy in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs.

Another student, Varta from Kashmir, recalled the terror that unfolded around them. "We were the first group to be moved out.

The neighbourhood we lived in came under attack. When the Indian government came to evacuate us, it was like a ray of hope in the dark," she said.