Chennai/Mumbai, July 22 Emotional scenes werewitnessed Friday night as two Air India aircraft carrying 602 Indiansevacuated from violence-hit Lebanon landed at Chennai and Mumbai.

Many of the returnees raised their hands in acknowledgementof their safe return, others hugged and greeted their waiting relatives,others quietly walked to the terminal building to complete theirimmigration formalities and head home.

The first flight from Larnacain Cyprus - to where the Indians were evacuated Thursday by the IndianNavy destroyer INS Mumbai - landed at Chennai at 10.30 p.m.

Ministerfor Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi, received the flight thatcarried 341 passengers.

The second flight, carrying 261 passengers,landed at Mumbai an hour later.

Of the passengers who arrived inChennai, wearing orange-coloured armbands, 331 were from Tamil Nadu andthe rest from Kerala. The state government provided them Rs.500 in cash,a dinner and transport facilities to enable them reach theirhomes.

"If they are happy, we are happy," Ravi said, as he watchedthe evacuees bustle around the departure terminal looking for theirluggage.

Ravi said another 450 Indians were awaiting evacuation fromBeirut and that they would be brought out over the next four to fivedays.

"The government is doing their best for our citizens in thetroubled region. Both the Indian envoys in Beirut and Cyprus are helpingout those who want to return to India," Ravi said.

In one of itslargest ever-overseas civilian evacuation operations named 'OperationSukoon', the Indian Navy deployed four vessels - guided missile frigatesINS Betwa and INS Brahmaputra and auxiliary tanker INS Shakti, as alsoINS Mumbai to transport Indian citizens wishing to leave Lebanon toLarnaca.

INS Mumbai, which arrived in the Cypriot port at 5.30 a.m.,is reported to have turned around and is heading for Beirut to pick upthe second group of Indians.

The other three ships are deployed ininternational waters between Lebanon and Cyprus and a decision onre-entering Beirut will be taken as the situation develops, Indian Navyspokesman Captain Vinay Garg said in New Delhi.

According to him, "asof now, only 1,000-odd Indians have expressed a desire to leave. It ispossible many more will also want to leave in the coming days".

Thereare nearly 12,000 Indians in Lebanon, the majority of them working infactories and farms. About 100 have been evacuated to Syrian capitalDamascus by road.

The ministry of overseas Indian affairs has openeda control room here to deal with the situation. The telephone numbersare 11-26874250, 24197972 and the fax number is 11 -24197984.