"It was like we were on a deathbed," recalled a relieved Sukhvinder Singh from Haryana as he arrived at the Delhi airport from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night after being evacuated from strife-torn Sudan. In his mid-40s, the engineer was among the first batch of 360 Indian nationals who returned home under India's 'Operation Kaveri' evacuation mission. Singh, a native of Faridabad in Haryana, recalled his ordeal in Sudan and said he was "still very scared".

"We were living in one area, confined to one room. It was like we were on a deathbed," he told PTI before making his way home. India has evacuated at least 670 Indian nationals from Sudan and is looking to rescue more of its citizens from the strife-torn African nation before the end of a tenuous ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force. Chhotu, a factory worker who hails from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, was in a state of disbelief and exclaimed, "'Marke wapas aa gaya (have returned after almost dying)'."