160 Indians stranded on cruise liner in Japan appeal to Indian government

New Delhi: A hundred and sixty Indians stranded on cruise liner Diamond Princess, isolated by the Japanese authorities with the fear of Wuhan Coronavirus, have appealed to the Indian government to get them released from the situation. The virus is spreading on the cruise liner and 64 people have been reported to have been infected by the virus so far. Fortunately, there is no Indian in the list of infected people. But the threat of Wuhan Coronavirus spreading to passengers from various countries is increasing by the day. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that the Indian government is keenly following the matter.

The luxury cruise liner belonging to the Princess Cruise company has been kept in isolation at a Japanese port. There were a few passengers from China on the ship. Ten people were found to be infected with the Wuhan Coronavirus when the ship docked at the Japanese port. Following that, the ship was isolated. The 3,700 passengers on board were denied permission to disembark on the port. Therefore, all these passengers stranded on the ship and the number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases is on the increase.

On 6th February, tests proved that there were 21 people infected with the virus on the cruise ship, whereas the very next day the number increased by 41 more, and on Saturday, another three cases were detected. Therefore, the number of Coronavirus cases on the ship has now increased to 64.

Even though the infected people have been isolated on the ship, there is still an atmosphere of panic amongst the passengers. There are 160 Indians on the ship who include 132 crew members.

All these Indian crew members and passengers have appealed to the Indian government to rescue them from the situation. The Indians have said that they have a simple expectation that the Indian government at least gets them out of the ship. The Indians on the ship have said that the longer they are on the ship, the bigger are the chances of them getting infected, and therefore, they should be rescued from the ship as soon as possible.

The Indians on the ship have appealed to the government through video posts on social media and by contacting their relatives back home in India. The relatives of these passengers also have appealed to the Indian government to rescue these people from the cruise liner.

The foreign ministry has taken cognisance of the matter. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said ‘There are Indian passengers and crew on the ship isolated by Japan because of the Wuhan Coronavirus infection. As per the information received from the embassy in Tokyo, no Indian has been tested positive for the virus. We are keenly following the situation.’