India repatriates non-essential crew members of Iranian ship in Kochi
New Delhi (PTI): India has repatriated the non-essential crew members of an Iranian warship that docked in Kochi on March 4 amid the escalating military conflict between Iran and the US, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
Over 50 of the 183 crew members have stayed back as the ship, IRIS Lavan, remains in Kochi, they said.
The non-essential sailors left India by a Turkish airline aircraft. The aircraft landed in Kochi late last night after picking up the bodies from Colombo of over 80 Iranian sailors of another warship that was sunk by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka on March 4.
IRIS Lavan has remained in Kochi since March 4. The ship had developed urgent technical issues and was granted emergency docking approval on March 1 following a request from the Iranian side.
It is learnt that the Iranian sailors of IRIS Lavan will travel to Iran by road from Yerevan, Armenia's capital city.
The repatriation of the crew members comes as New Delhi makes efforts to ensure safe passage for over two dozen Indian-flagged merchant vessels currently stationed on either side of the Strait of Hormuz.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday night in the fourth such conversation since the West Asia crisis erupted.
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Rajasthan Royals beat Gujarat Titans by 6 runs
Ahmedabad (PTI): Rajasthan Royals defeated Gujarat Titans by six runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Opting to bat, Rajasthan Royals posted 210 for six.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (55 off 36 balls) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (31 of 18) stitched 70 runs off 38 balls for the opening wicket to lay the foundation for the challenging total.
Dhruv Jurel emerged as the star with the bat for RR, making 75 off 42 balls with the help of four boundaries and five hits over the fence.
For GT, Kagiso Rabada (2/42) picked up two wickets.
Chasing 211, Sai Sudharsan made 73 off 44 balls with the help of nine boundaries and three sixes, but lacked support from the other end.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals: 210 for 6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 75, Yashasvi Jaiswal 55; Kagiso Rabada 2/42).
Gujarat Titans: 204 for 8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 73; Ravi Bishnoi 4/41).
