More stranded Bahraini pilgrims fly home from Iran

A second group of Bahrainis, who were stranded in Iran since the Covid-19 outbreak, has been evacuated.

More than 60 people arrived at Bahrain International Airport from Mashhad last night on board a chartered flight arranged by the Health Ministry as part of its International Covid-19 Repatriation Programme (ICRP).

They have been stuck in the Iranian city after Bahrain imposed travel restrictions as part of preventive measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

They had travelled to Iran in early February as part of groups operated by local religious tour agents.

They were transferred to various Covid-19 facilities after screening at the airport.

“The passengers immediately underwent laboratory testing upon arrival by a specialised medical team,” said the ministry.

“Based on the results the passengers will either be moved to specialised isolation centres or to quarantine.”

Two previously scheduled flights to bring back this group were postponed due to logistical reasons.

The first batch of 160 Bahrainis, comprising men, women and children, returned on March 10.

Meanwhile, as many as 14 MPs have put forward a request for details of the ongoing evacuation process.

Parliament’s first vice-chairman Abdulnabi Salman told the GDN that a meeting is set to take place today with officials from the Foreign Ministry to discuss the ICRP.

“This is a humanitarian issue, the families here are worried and the Bahrainis in Iran are falling ill,” he said.

“We still have almost 1,300 people in Iran and so we are meeting with officials to discuss this because there should be a solution.”

REQUEST

MP Zainab Abdulameer, who is among the 14 MPs behind the parliamentary request, said they were working to ensure the safe and immediate return of citizens stranded in Iran.

“It is heartbreaking to see videos of Bahraini citizens stuck in Iran with no clear reason behind the delay in their evacuation,” she said.

“There are around 1,300 Bahrainis stuck there and many of them are either elderly or with chronic illnesses.”

raji@gdn.com.bh reem@gdn.com.bh

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