An Indian student was killed in shelling in Kharkiv city of war-hit Ukraine on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The student identified as Naveen SG was a native of Chalageri in Karnataka's Haveri district, a state government official said.
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According to ndtv.com, Naveen was standing in the queue for food when the fatality happened.
"With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning," it tweeted. The ministry said it is in touch with the family of the student. "We convey our deepest condolences to the family," it said.
Naveen SG Twitter: @NikhilaHenry
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Naveen's father and offered his heartfelt condolences to the family following the tragedy.
"A student Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a native of Chalageri in Haveri district, died in the shelling," the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority commissioner Dr Manoj Rajan told PTI.
A number of Indians are still stranded in Kharkiv where Russia has launched a major military offensive. The MEA said the Foreign Secretary is calling in ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India's demand for "urgent safe passage" to Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and other cities in conflict zones.
"Similar action is also being undertaken by our ambassadors in Russia and Ukraine," the MEA said.
Jaishankar briefs Modi on evacuation
With several MPs receiving anxious calls from families of Indian nationals stuck in war-hit Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asked parliamentarians to directly contact his office to flag "particular concerns" and share information about such people.
"Please be assured that we are taking cognizance of all enquiries and information. All of them will be attended to by Team MEA representatives on the ground," the Union minister said in a letter sent out to all MPs on Monday. He also shared an e-mail ID and WhatsApp numbers on which the MPs can share details.
The government has launched "Operation Ganga" to evacuate Indian citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. The government had on Monday decided to send four ministers to several neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation exercise.
"You are naturally getting many anxious enquiries from the families of students and other Indian nationals who are still in Ukraine, Ministry of External Affairs has set up a helpline for the public...," he said in his letter detailing its numbers and e-mail IDs.
In addition, depending on which border the person concerned is moving towards, separate helplines have been set up in Indian embassies in Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, he said.
In order to scale up the ongoing evacuation efforts under Operation Ganga, Modi has called for the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts.
Till now, only private Indian carriers were evacuating Indians from Romania and Hungary, countries with land borders with Ukraine on the western side, as the Ukrainian airspace had been shut since February 24.
Leveraging the capacities of the Indian Air Force may ensure that more people can be evacuated in a shorter time frame and will help deliver humanitarian aid more efficiently. Indian Air Force is likely to deploy several C-17 aircraft as part of Operation Ganga from Tuesday.
The seventh flight carrying 182 Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine reached Mumbai from Romania's Bucharest on Tuesday morning.
Earlier on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India has evacuated over 8,000 nationals since the initial advisories were issued by the country.
