Vande Bharat flight with 289 Indians departs from Toronto

A special flight under Vande Bharat Mission departed from Toronto with 289 stranded Indians on Thursday.

"Flight #5 from Toronto under the #VandeBharatMission took off today to #Delhi with 289 passengers at 1215 hrs," India in Toronto tweeted.

'Vande Bharat' mission is a Government of India's initiative to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various parts of the world due to restrictions over air travel to contain COVID-19 spread.

A total of 1,65,375 people have returned, including 29,034 migrant workers under Vande Bharat Mission, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Thursday.

The exercise began on May 7 with a second phase commencing on May 16.

The third phase of the exercise began on June 11 and continue till June 30.

( With inputs from ANI )