Thiruvananthapuram, July 1 (IANS): The 46 Kerala nurses stranded in Iraq's Tikrit town are spending their time in a basement of a building within the hospital campus where they worked, according to a source.
One can easily make out from sounds in the background and around them that they live in a basement in constant fear. They do not know whether the rebels or the government controls their city, a person who did not wish to be identified and in touch with the nurses told IANS.
"The nurses said they were offered rice and pulses yesterday (Monday). They cooked their food thereafter. They said they also got water," said the person.
The nurses who used to speak to a few media personnel from here, now do not attend their calls.
The nurses have some idea about who controls Tikrit, the hometown of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, as there were reports about bombings in the place. On Sunday evening, one bomb landed just about 150 metres away from where they were staying earlier, before moving into the basement of another building Monday.
The electricity supply to the basement is from generators and there is also a doctor in the hospital.