First of 2 flights, arranged by Shinde to ferry tourists from Maharashtra stranded in UAE, lands in Mumbai

Mumbai, Mar 3 (PTI) The first of the two flights, arranged by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to ferry tourists from Maharashtra stranded in the UAE due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, landed in Mumbai on Tuesday night with around 70 passengers on board, Shiv Sena MLAs said.

The Shiv Sena, headed by Shinde, had deputed three of its MLAs, Murji Patel, Dilip Lande and Mangesh Kudalkar, to receive the passengers on their arrival from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is caught up in the West Asian conflict triggered by the US-Israel airstrikes on Iran over the weekend and subsequent retaliatory attacks by the Islamic Republic.

Patel said the first flight landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 9.45 pm.

Earlier in the day, Shinde's office, in a statement, said that two flights carrying stranded Maharashtra residents will take off for Mumbai from the UAE's Fujairah Airport at 3.30 pm and 4.30 pm.

As many as 164 state residents are stranded in the UAE and they include 84 students of the Pune-based Indira School of Business Studies and tourists from Thane, Ahilyanagar and Pune districts, it stated.

Kudalkar said the first flight carried around 70 passengers. His party colleague and MLA Lande said the second flight is expected to land later tonight.

The deputy chief minister has been in constant touch with those from the state stranded in the UAE since the West Asia conflict started on Saturday. PTI PR RSY