West Asia conflict: Six Indians lost their lives in ‘various incidents’, says MEA
At an inter-ministerial briefing here, MEA Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem R Mahajan also said: “Late last night, we received information regarding the tragic death of an Indian national during an attack in Riyadh on March 18.” However, he did not provide detailed information about the circumstances of this death.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. Our Mission in Riyadh is in touch with the family and is in close coordination with the local authorities to bring the remains back to India as soon as possible,” he said.
On Friday, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh announced that an Indian citizen was killed in Saudi Arabia due to the “recent events on March 18”.
In a social media post, the Indian Mission expressed its “deepest condolences over the tragic death of an Indian citizen in Riyadh due to recent events on 18 March.”
A day ago, the Indian embassy announced that warnings were received by residents of Riyadh and some other regions on Wednesday. “The Indian community is advised to remain calm and cool,” the embassy said.
Mahajan also told reporters in Delhi that “six Indian nationals have lost their lives in various incidents and one person is missing.” “Our missions in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq and the UAE are in regular contact with the relevant authorities regarding the missing Indian citizen and early repatriation of bodies of deceased Indian citizens to India.” he said.
Less than a week ago, the MEA official had told reporters at an inter-ministerial briefing on the situation in West Asia that five Indian nationals had died in various incidents while one was missing.
The West Asian conflict began on February 28, when the US-Israeli alliance launched a military attack on Iran. In retaliation, Tehran targeted Gulf countries that host US military bases.
During this conflict, which spanned three weeks and had no end in sight, energy and other civilian infrastructures in the Gulf region were also attacked.
Mahajan said around three lakh passengers have returned to India from the region since February 28.
