Despite the terror attack, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said there is no change in plan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Brussels on March 30 for the 13th India-European Union Summit. While Modi, who will head to Washington from Belgium for Nuclear Security Summit from March 31, condemned the attacks saying the news is “disturbing”, the MEA said there were no Indian casualties though a lady ground staff of Jet Airlines suffered some injuries. All Indian airports have been put on high alert after the terror attack in Brussels.
“An Indian lady crew member of Jet Airways is injured. She has been rushed to the hospital,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said and tweeted the Indian Embassy’s helpline numbers in Brussels. The Jet Airways, however, said two of its staff were injured. It has cancelled all its to and fro flights from Brussels till Wednesday.
Indian passengers stuck at the airport have been evacuated and moved to safer places. The Minister is constantly in touch with the Indian mission. “I hv again spoken to our Ambassador in Brussels. He hs informed that all stranded Indian passengers are being provided hotel accommodation,” Swaraj tweeted.
The Union Home Ministry has alerted all airports across the country to tighten the security measures in the wake of Brussels terror attack. Apart from CISF, which maintains important airport, the State police units and their intelligence wings have been asked to check the entire levels of security inside airports from entry point to boarding and exit points. Private operators in the aviation sector too have been asked to tighten their routine checks, said officials.
The Indian Government has strongly condemned the terror attack and called for united fight against the menace. “News from Brussels is disturbing. The attacks are condemnable. Condolences to families of the deceased. May those injured recover quickly,” PM tweeted soon after the news of attack broke.
“We condemn the attack with strongest possible terms. We stand in solidarity with people and Government of Belgium. We offer our condolences to families of the victims. Terrorism is a global scourge and the attack in Belgium underscores once again the need to counter it unitedly,” MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
Actor Gul Panag’s pilot husband Captain GS Attari working in Jet Airways and Bollywood singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s family are among those who are stuck in Brussels. “Flushing Operation is still on. They are still finding bombs. His crew and passengers are safe. They all were in the aircraft for over two hours. Now they have been taken to a secure holding area,” Panag told media.
Bhattacharya’s wife Sumati Bhattacharya and son were in Brussels at the time of the suicide attack. The singer posted on Twitter about his family. Abhijeet shared that his wife and son have been evacuated and are in a safe zone now.
PM’s Belgium tour was long pending as the last PM visit to Brussels was in 2012. The India-EU ties saw some strain after the 28-member bloc did not respond to India’s proposal for a brief visit by Modi to Brussels, the EU headquarters during his trip to France, Germany and Canada in April last year. Apart from Brussels, Modi will also visit Washington and Riyadh during the three-nation tour.