Special AI flight carrying Indian nurses lands in Mumbai

Indian nurses who were trapped in territory captured by Islamic militants wait for the plane to begin their journey home at Irbil International Airport, Iraq, on Friday, July 4, 2014. More than 40 Indian nurses who were trapped in territory captured by Islamic militants crossed into Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region Friday and will be under the protection of local security forces until flying home later in the day, authorities said. AP photo

A special Air India flight carrying 46 Indian nurses set free by Sunni militants ISIS in strife-torn Iraq and 137 others arrived in Mumbai today.

The flight carrying 183 Indian nationals from Erbil landed in Mumbai at 8:43 AM.

The flight has made a 'technical halt' in Mumbai for refuelling and catering supplies.

The flight would leave for Kochi at 9:55 AM and reach the city at 11:55 AM, Air India officials said.

The flight would then leave for Hyderabad at 12:55 PM and arrive in the city at 1425 hours. The flight's last destination would be Delhi where it would arrive at 1740 hours, the officials said.

Besides the nurses, the plane is also carrying 137 other Indian nationals, including 70 from Kirkuk in the northern part of Iraq.

An Air India spokesperson in Kochi said there are 183 passengers, including 23 crew members and three government officials, including a joint-secretary level IFS officer and an IAS woman officer from Kerala on board the flight.

According to information provided by Air India from Erbil, forty-six nurses will get down at Kochi and around 100 other passengers are bound for Hyderabad.

The ordeal of the nurses, who were working at a hospital in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, began when a swift ISIS (Islamic State for Iraq and Syria) offensive was launched on June 9.

The nurses were moved out on Thursday against their will and detained in the militant-held city of Mosul, 250 km from Tikrit. The Erbil International airport is about 80 km from Mosul.