"All the Indian nationals stranded in the southern Kyrgyz towns of Osh and Jalal-Abad were safely evacuated last night by air to Bishkek. They are expected to return to India over the next few days. Flights out of Bishkek are operating normally," a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Earlier on Monday, the MEA said that “about 116 Indian nationals are stranded in Kyrgyzstan. These include around 15 students in the city of Jalal-Abad and around 99 students, a professor and a businessman, in the city of Osh.”

“Our Mission was in close and regular touch with several of the Indian nationals, as well as with relevant departments of the Kyrgyz government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and security agencies,” it said.

The Indian mission in Kyrgyzstan, in active cooperation with Kyrgyz authorities, succeeded in pulling the students and one professor of Indian Council for Cultural Relations out of Osh and taking them to Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

Earlier, The Indian Express spoke to two medical students, who were at the Jalal-Abad airport on Monday evening, waiting to be flown out.

“Police came to where we were staying and asked us to accompany them. We were told that they were operating on the instructions of the Indian Embassy. They drove us to the airport in a heavily-armed convoy at a great speed,” said Sumita Murthy, who hails from Kerala.