New Delhi, 19 June

"We saw missiles in the sky and heard bombs in our neighbourhood... We were petrified," said MBBS student Mir Khalif, his voice still trembling with fear, as he stepped out of the Delhi airport after being evacuated from war-hit Iran under Operation Sindhu.

Khalif arrived in the national capital early Thursday in the first evacuation flight carrying 110 Indian students of the Urmia University of Medical Sciences in Iran's Urmia city as part of the special operation launched by the Indian government in response to the escalating Iran-Israel conflict.

The students, including 90 from Jammu and Kashmir, were moved from Tehran to Armenia earlier this week as explosions and aerial attacks rocked Iranian cities. The rescue was coordinated by the Indian Embassy.

Khalif described the experience in Iran as a nightmare and thanked the Indian government for evacuating them first to Armenia and then bringing them back home.

"We saw missiles and heard bombings. It was a war zone. Our building shook during the attacks. I hope no student has to face what we did," he said.

"There are students still stuck in Iran. They are being relocated to safer places. We hope they will also be airlifted to India soon," he added.

Varta, a resident of Kashmir, recalled the fear she lived through.

"We were the first ones to be evacuated from Iran. The situation was quite critical. We were terrified. We thank the Indian government and the Indian Embassy, which worked swiftly to bring us here.

"Our neighbourhood was attacked. When the Indian government came to our doorstep, it felt like home," she told PTI Videos.

Huzaif Malik, another student from Kashmir, told PTI, "There are 90 of us from Kashmir. We landed this morning, and now we are heading to Kashmir in sleeper buses. Some students also left for their homes by flights."

Ali Akbar, who hails from Delhi, said the destruction was visible everywhere.

"We saw a missile and a drone fall from the sky while travelling in a bus. Tehran is in ruins. The images on the news are real, the situation is very bad," he said.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh reached the Delhi airport to receive the students.

Later, in a post on X, he said, "Warmly welcomed home the first group of 110 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu, reaffirming India's steadfast commitment to the safety and well-being of its citizens abroad."