Nepal plans chartered flights to evacuate citizens from Wuhan

Nepal government has initiated the process to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, and is planning to send a chartered aeroplane as soon as possible.

"In the context of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, the Government of Nepal has decided to evacuate Nepali nationals currently residing in the Hubei Province of China. The plans for a special chartered flight are being worked out," the Nepalese Embassy in Beijing said in an advisory on Saturday.

The embassy also has asked the Nepalese nationals in Hubei to fill the form available on the website of Embassy and send it to the official email address- beijing@nepalembassy.org.cn.

The Embassy said the evacuees will undergo a medical check-up at the Wuhan airport before being evacuated.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister of Nepal Yogesh Bhattarai during a discussion programme said that two aircraft to bring back Nepalese students have been kept on the standby.

"Aircrafts of Nepal Airlines and Himalaya Airlines have been kept ready to be deployed. The government would rescue when it feels it is needed," Bhattarai said.

The deadly coronavirus has claimed lives of over 250 people. Over 10,000 people have been infected by virus in China and confirmed cases have been reported from several countries of the world.

Most of the deaths have been reported in the central province of Hubei, home to about 60 million people.

The Himalayan nation also reported a case of the infection last month.