Indian passports lost in incident will be reissued

The Consulate General of India in Dubai has assured all help and assistance to the affected passengers of the Thiruvananthapuram-Dubai Emirates flight that crash landed.
The Dubai Consulate General is taking the issue of lost passports as 'top priority', Deputy Consul General Muraleedharan K. told Khaleej Times on Wednesday.
"The Dubai Consulate General will issue new passports to those people who have lost them in the fire on the plane," he said. Playing a proactive role, Muraleedharan with his team rushed to the airport as soon as the news broke about the crash landing. "We worked in coordination with the airport authorities. They facilitated a meeting with all the passengers," he said.
Muraleedharan confirmed that all passengers were safe. Apart from the bruises on the feet of a few passengers, there were no major injuries.
"Even those injuries were suffered after the evacuation happened. The airport authorities and the airline provided all the needed first aid and refreshments," said Muraleedharan, who spent more than three hours at the airport.
Regarding the cause of the crash, he said: "The matter is under investigation. However, the pilots managed the situation very well.
"The Consulate General is ready to help any affected passengers and they can even approach us making use of the Open House," he added.
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Indian Embassy steps in
The Indian Embassy has also assured that all the passengers who have lost their passports will be furnished a new one soon. "As of now, 12 cases have been reported where passengers have lost their passports. We have started the process and will do everything to help anyone who has been affected," Indian Ambassador to the UAE TP Seetharam told Khaleej Times. "We are taking this as a special case."
On the passengers who have lost important papers - related to visa, job-related documents, etc - he said: "I understand that many passengers have lost their luggage and many key papers would be in their hand bags. We will help passengers in all ways possible," he added. "Any process regarding documentation will be our top priority now. We will provide all support and assistance." He added he was glad that a major disaster had been averted.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com