Saturday, April 04, 2020

Dundee family stuck in India after coronavirus grounds flights home

Rose Alcorn, 74, her partner Derek Yarwood, 64, daughter Marie Alcorn, 55, and her partner Joe Carol, 72, were due to fly home from Goa on Saturday, passing through Dhoa on the way.

All flights out have been grounded.

The family have been staying in rented self-catering accommodation in Goa for the past month and are relying on their kind-hearted hosts for food.

To make matters worse, Rose, from Myrekirk Terrace, is on medication after she had a stroke two years ago and also has high blood pressure. Marie, of Duncarse Road, is also on medication for COPD – a lung condition.

Both women only took enough medication to last their holiday and only managed to get more supplies today (Wed) after Marie was taken to hospital after falling ill.

She was suffering from pins and needles in her legs and her hands turning inwards, thought to be related to her condition.
Rose’s other daughter Donna Alcorn, 53, had also been on the holiday with them but flew home to Dundee last week with her partner John Cargill, 63.

Donna, of Lyndhurst Place, said: “It’s horrendous, I just want them home safe and sound as quickly as possible.

“I’m scared they will run out of medication, they had to go to three hospitals before anyone would see them and they could get medication.
“They’re just sitting on their balcony unable to go out and not knowing when they can come home. We’re desperate to have them back.”

Donna said the group have tried calling Qatar Airlines to find out details of when flights might return, but cannot get an answer.

And she said they have tried contacting the British Embassy via phone and email to no avail.
Chris Law, MP for Dundee West, said: “The Foreign Office needs to get their finger pulled out and get residents home – it’s putting people’s lives at risk.

“They have announced funding for it but we don’t know how they are prioritising who comes home.

“They’ve been advising us to tell constituents to crowd fund and raise savings to get themselves home but any flights that are still running are charging extortionate rates.
“There are too many people stuck in foreign countries, the Foreign Office needs to use the resources we have which are currently grounded to fly people home.”

The foreign secretary and Indian foreign minister have agreed coordinated measures to help get UK and Indian nationals home, including extended visas until April 15.
03/04/20 Sheanne Mulholland/Evening Telegraph

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