Mehbooba Mufti wants Centre's intervention for safe return of students from Iran
Srinagar (PTI): PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday sought the Union government's intervention for the safe return of students, including Kashmiris, from Iran amid the prevailing tension there.
This came a day after parents of several Kashmiri students studying in Iran expressed concern over the situation there, and appealed to the Centre to facilitate their children's return.
"Thousands of students from across the country, including Kashmir, are stranded in Iran amid the present volatile situation. This has triggered deep fear and anxiety in anguished parents desperately worried about their children's safety. Urge S Jaishankar and MEA to intervene urgently and ensure their safe return," Mehbooba said in a post on X.
According to estimates, a little over 10,000 Indians, including students, are currently living in Iran.
In a fresh advisory, the Indian embassy in Tehran has urged all Indians, including students, pilgrims, business persons and tourists, to leave Iran by available means of transport, including commercial flights.
The protests began late last month in Tehran after the Iranian currency rial plunged to record lows. The protests have since spread to all 31 provinces, evolving from an agitation against economic woes to a demand for political change.
The overall situation in the country in the last few days has deteriorated dramatically as the death toll from the nationwide protests has increased to over 2,500, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
