Two Bahraini students who were rescued from floods in Indian Kashmir returned home last night.

Adel Ali Altaitoon, 24, and Hussain Mahdi Ebrahim, 23, were given a warm welcome by family members at Bahrain International Airport after their Gulf Air flight landed at 11pm.

They were reported missing for six days in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir and were rescued by the Indian Army on Friday before being handed over to diplomats at the Bahrain Embassy in Delhi the same night.

“They were accommodated at Hotel Leela in Chanakyapuri, Delhi on Friday,” said Bahrain Embassy charge d’affaires Marem Al Saleh.

“Yesterday a doctor visited them in the hotel for a normal checkup, and they are really fine and looked strong.

“Hussain and Adel have strong willpower that they survived this tough experience and they said that they learned a lot.

“They told us that they had only one piece of chapatti (bread) and one cup of water each day while they were stranded in Kashmir.”

Mr Altaitoon from A’ali and Mr Ebrahim from Sanabis are both students at the Indian Academy in Bangalore, Karnataka, and had left on a sightseeing tour of Srinagar on September 6 – the same day that reports emerged of serious floods.

Rescue

Meanwhile, an elderly Bahraini couple – Ishaq Mohammed Ahmed and Shehnaz Hashem Al Ansari – who were also rescued from Kashmir earlier last week will fly back home on Wednesday.

“They want to continue their tour in Delhi and will be staying back until Wednesday,” said Ms Al Saleh.

“We received Mr Ahmed and his wife yesterday afternoon.

“I’m very thankful to the Indian Foreign Affairs and Defence ministries and Mr Zoohor, a rescue volunteer from Kashmir, who helped us a lot and did a great job.”

Flood waters have started receding in the city of Srinagar, and other towns in the valley.

More than 200 people have been killed in the worst floods in the state in over a century and thousands are still missing.
The Indian military said it has rescued 130,000 people.
raji@gdn.com.bh