Indians who returned safely to Mumbai from Cairo share their horror stories

It was a literal escape from the jaws of death for 320 Indians trapped in the strife-torn Egypt where "towering street fires dwarfed the Pyramids".

The moment Air India's Boeing 747-800 flight, ferrying Indians caught in the chaos of Cairo, touched down at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the overbearing sense of fear disappeared.


Honeymoon couple Shashank and Madhumita Narvekar

But the passengers could not stop the sudden surge of emotion when they spotted their near and dear ones eagerly waiting for their arrival.

MiD DAY spoke with a few passengers onboard the special flight from Cairo.

"I am both lucky and unlucky. Lucky because I returned home in one piece from the burning city and unlucky as I couldn't see the Pyramids. When we landed at Cairo on January 28, the army sealed the streets.

The mob even intercepted our car and asked us to open its door. But they did not harm us once they knew we are tourists from India," said M P Sinha, a senior Tata Steel official.

Sinha, along with his wife and around 300 colleagues, had put up at Coffitel Hotel of the disturbed town.
"I was really scared, as the buildings close to our hotel were being set ablaze.

The tall Pyramids were nowhere to be seen, all I could see was towering columns of fire everywhere. Despite our nightmarish experience, I want to visit Egypt once again when the situation becomes normal," added Sinha.

The burning city also shattered and singed the honeymoon dreams of a couple from Goa.

Shashank and Madhumita Narvekar, who were also caught in the Egyptian chaos, have decided not to visit the country again.
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"We are lucky to return alive from there. And I don't think we can even dream of going to that place again," said Madhumita.

Devina Chakraborty and three of her colleagues were there on a business trip, but they had to cut their journey short as the situation spun out of control in Egypt.
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"You don't understand the worth of life till you have a brush with death. It feels great to be alive," added Devina.

Granddaughters of Bohra Muslims' spiritual leader Syedna Zaharabai Saheba (14) and Khadijabai Saheba (12) who are pursing Arabic studies in Kahira also took the flight to life.

"They are fine but are very tired as the flight got delayed. I want to thank the Indian government, which made arrangements to bring their own people back," said Shabir H Ujjainwala, the manager of the Syedna.

However, Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna yesterday said in Delhi, "About 3,200 Indians are in Egypt of whom 2,000 are in Cairo.

The government is willing to provide all help to the Indians, including air travel facilities, if they want to come back. We are in touch with our embassy and are working on all aspects to help our countrymen trapped there."