NEW DELHI: The first flight carrying Indians stranded in Ukraine has left for India from Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The special flight took off from Bucharest this afternoon at 1.45 pm. The flight is expected to reach Mumbai by 9.30 pm. It is learned that there are 219 passengers on board including 19 Malayalees.

According to the central government, about 16,000 Indians are currently stranded in Ukraine. It is hinted that there are about 2300 Malayalees in this. The rescue operation is focusing on Ukraine's neighbours Poland, Hungary and Romania.

In the first phase, two planes arrived in Romania. An Air India flight is scheduled to depart for Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The Centre is trying to repatriate the Indians as early as possible. The government also directed the country's private airlines to arrange more flights for rescue missions. The foreign ministry's move is to first evacuate people from western Ukraine, where the war is not so intense. As other countries rely on Hungary, Poland and Romania to bring back their citizens trapped in Ukraine, a heavy rush is being experienced in the aviation sector of these countries.