29 Chennai tourists stranded in Sri Lanka return home safely
However, all outbound flights were cancelled due to the severe weather, leaving them stranded in a remote village with limited access to food, surviving only on biscuits for nearly two days.
Tourists back from flood-hit Lanka at the Chennai airport
CHENNAI: As many as 29 people from Chennai, including 14 women and several children, who were stranded in flood-hit Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah, returned safely on Tuesday morning.
The group had travelled to Sri Lanka on November 25 for a six-day trip, but relentless rain, flooding and landslides soon left them confined indoors.
Within two days of their arrival in the island nation, roads were washed away, buildings collapsed, and multiple districts were cut off due to extreme weather. As conditions worsened, the tourists decided to cut short their trip and return home.
However, all outbound flights were cancelled due to the severe weather, leaving them stranded in a remote village with limited access to food, surviving only on biscuits for nearly two days.
While women and children were accommodated in guest houses and local homes, the men remained on their tour bus, unable to move as landslides and debris blocked roads in several directions.
With no clarity on when they would be able to leave, the group contacted the Tamil Nadu government for assistance.
Upon Chief Minister MK Stalin's direction to officials to coordinate with the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka, the group managed to reach Colombo airport after the rain subsided. But, as their return tickets to Chennai had been cancelled, they were asked to purchase new tickets. Embassy officials intervened, and they were allowed to travel on their original tickets.
The group finally arrived in Chennai on a SriLankan Airlines flight on Tuesday morning. Speaking at the airport, the tourists recounted the fear they experienced witnessing landslides unfold around them. “We saw huge buildings collapsing before our eyes. Lives were lost. We were terrified,” they said, expressing gratitude to the Chief Minister for the swift action that enabled their safe return.
