35 stranded, starving Indians now safe

Joginder Singh and his group, who were starving and scampering for their lives in Libya, have now received shelter and access to food

35 stranded, starving Indians now safe

Joginder Singh and his group, who were starving and scampering for their lives in Libya, have now received shelter and access to food

TUESDAY was not the last time Joginder Singh, a mechanical engineer stuck in Libya, spoke to his family in Punjab after all.

The report on January 23

MiD DAY had reported yesterday ('They burnt 10 Indians in front of my eyes') that Singh and a group of 35 Indians were starving in the strife-torn country and were fearing for their lives after protesters set a bus carrying 10 of their group members on fire.

Joginder had told his family on Tuesday that he could die any moment and that was probably the last time he was speaking to them.
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Yesterday however, brought happy tidings for the families of the 35 after Kulvinder Singh managed to get through to his father, who is stuck with Joginder, and was told that the group was safe and had finally got some food to eat.

Joginder's son, Karan said, "We were trying their numbers for days but couldn't get through.

Finally, my friend Kulvinder managed to place a call via the internet yesterday and spoke to his father. He told Kulvinder that he and the 34 other Indians were safe and had got access to food."

"They were helped by their friends in Libya. We are now waiting for the government to get them back home," said Karan.

Rescue status

Meanwhile, one ship meant to rescue some of the nearly 18,000 people stuck in Libya reached Egypt yesterday.

The External Affairs Ministry is awaiting clearance from its Libyan counterpart for India's rescue ships and aircraft to enter the country.