Indian workers evacuated from Yemen

A group of 348 Indian citizens trapped during the escalating conflict in Yemen have been evacuated and are on their way home, officials said Wednesday.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes targeting Shia Houthi rebels in support of embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi.

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the group was taken by an Indian navy ship at the port of Aden and would board air force planes in Djibouti for the trip back to India.

"Sailing away from troubles," Akbaruddin wrote on Twitter.

Official sources told the IANS news agency that the ship "sailed into a barrage of bombs" to evacuate the Indian group, comprising more than 100 women and 28 children.

There are nearly 4,000 Indian labourers, businessmen and nurses working in Yemen, according to the ministry. Many are stranded in Aden and Sanaa. There have been no reports of any Indian casualties so far.