Berhampur: The family members of Shivasis Nayak, an engineer from Odisha, breathed a sigh of relief following his safe return to India today after remaining stranded for few weeks on board a Coronavirus-hit cruise ship off Japan coast.
Nayak, who hails from Berhampur, along with 118 Indians and five foreigners were evacuated from the ship ‘Diamond Princess’ and brought to the Delhi from Tokyo in a special Air India flight today.
As the news of evacuation of the Indians reached here, the family members of Shivasis erupted in joy. The parents of the young engineer visited the Shirdi Sai temple in the locality today morning and offered prayers.
“He was stranded in the ship since February 4. For the last 22 days, he survived on fruits. Now we are very happy that he returned to India safely. I would like to thank the God, the Indian government and the mediapersons for safe return of my son,” Lingaraj Nayak, father of Shivasis narrated before OTV.
“My son has been tested negative for Coronavirus. As he returned to India, he will again undergo test to ascertain whether he is afflicted by the deadly virus,” he added.
Echoing similar sentiment, mother of Shivasis said, “We were spending sleepless nights since my son was trapped in the ship. Now, we are feeling very happy that he landed in India."
Notably, the ‘Diamond Princess’ ship with some 3,700 passengers and crew, had been in quarantine at Yokohama port since 3 February. Earlier, Shivasis through a video message had appealed to the government for help him return to the country.
All the evacuees will undergo 14-day quarantine at a medical facility set-up by the Indian Army in Manesar.