Kochi, May 9 (IANS): Senior Kerala police official Vijay Sakhare said on Saturday that all arrangements are in place to receive 698 people who are being evacuated from Maldives on INS Jalashwa, which is expected to arrive here on Sunday at 9.30 a.m.

This operation is part of Indian Navy's 'Operation Samudra Setu'.

"The ship will arrive here tomorrow and everything is ready here. Among the 698 passengers, 440 are from Kerala, 156 from Tamil Nadu and the rest are from various states in the country," said Sakhare.

Also onboard the ship are 19 pregnant women and 14 kids.

"All the Keralaites will be sent for 14 days institutional quarantine at their respective home districts, while those from other states will be kept in quarantine here itself. Those who are having exemption from institutional quarantine have to be at home and there will be mechanism to see that they do it as per guidelines," said Sakhare.

The distance between Male and Kochi is 493 nautical miles. INS Jalashwa is an Indian naval ship attached to the Eastern Naval Command. It was acquired from the United States and was commissioned in 2007.

INS Jalashwa has the capacity to accommodate 1000 troops, and comes equipped with extensive medical facilities, including four operation theatres, and a 12-bed ward facility.