Indian Crew Onboard Japanese Quarantined Cruise Ship Pleads For Help
Halfway through a two-week quarantine, 66 more people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, bringing the tally to 136.
Panic on the vessel led a group of Indians on board to make an appeal to the Indian government for help.
In a video, Binay Kumar Sarkar, a crew member from India, appealed to the government and the United Nations to segregate the Indians on board. "None of them have been checked (for coronavirus)," he said, indicating five of his Indians colleagues. All the men in the video were wearing white masks. "Please somehow save us as soon as possible. What's the point if something happens (to us)...I want to tell the government of India, Modi-ji, please segregate us and bring us back home safely," he said. Some 3,700 people are confined to their cabins on the docked cruise ship since February 3, after it received word that a Hong Kong passenger who sailed on it last month was found positive for coronavirus. In China alone, there are now more than 40,000 cases of the virus, with the death toll at 900. In the last 24 hours, 97 people have died in China out of which 91 deaths were in Hubei province alone. Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted: "Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japan due to Coronavirus. None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy. We are closely following the developments."
In a video, Binay Kumar Sarkar, a crew member from India, appealed to the government and the United Nations to segregate the Indians on board. "None of them have been checked (for coronavirus)," he said, indicating five of his Indians colleagues. All the men in the video were wearing white masks. "Please somehow save us as soon as possible. What's the point if something happens (to us)...I want to tell the government of India, Modi-ji, please segregate us and bring us back home safely," he said. Some 3,700 people are confined to their cabins on the docked cruise ship since February 3, after it received word that a Hong Kong passenger who sailed on it last month was found positive for coronavirus. In China alone, there are now more than 40,000 cases of the virus, with the death toll at 900. In the last 24 hours, 97 people have died in China out of which 91 deaths were in Hubei province alone. Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted: "Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japan due to Coronavirus. None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy. We are closely following the developments."
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Japan has given out information about Indian crew and passengers onboard the cruise ship without specifying their actual number.Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship #DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japan due to #Coronavirus. None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy @IndianEmbTokyo. We are closely following the developments.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 7, 2020
Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship #DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japan due to #Coronavirus (#nCoV). In this context, any query please contact First Secretary (Consular) @IndianEmbTokyo at fscons.tokyo@mea.gov.in @CPVIndia @MEAIndia @PMOIndia
— India in Japanインド大使館 (@IndianEmbTokyo) February 10, 2020
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