Indians stranded in St Martin appeal to Centre for help

CHENNAI: Indians stranded on the island of St Martin in the

Caribbean Sea

have appealed to the Centre to evacuate them immediately in the wake of widespread looting following Hurricane Irma. Around 25,000 Indians live in St Martin and comprise one-third of the island's population.

The northern part of St Martin, which is part of the

Leeward Islands

, is administered by

France

while the southern part is under Dutch control.Manoj Chabria, a Chennai re sident who lived on the island for a decade and whose family members are stuck there, said several streets on the French side where Indians own jewellery, electronics and clothing stores have seen large-scale looting.

Chabria, who spoke to his sister Dolly Shadpuri on Thursday, said, “All the Indians there are scared and need urgent help from the Centre to be evacuated.“ He said another of his relatives, Umesh Chella ni, had informed him via WhatsApp that rioters had been looting stores and were robbing residents at gunpoint.

The country's airport was closed to civilian flights but the US was sending military planes to evacuate its students studying there, said Chabria, quoting residents. He said residents had sent him messages seeking the urgent intervention of the Indian government to evacuate them through military planes as they feared for their lives at the hands of rioters. However, Chabria added that Radha Soami Dera, a resident living on the Dutch side, had told him that Indians there were safe.

“Several Indians have lost everything including their houses due to the looting and are fast running out of food and water,“ said Chabria. Efforts to contact the Indian embassy in St Martin were in vain as the telephone lines are down due to the impact of the hurricane.

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