UK evacuation plane leaves Wuhan with 110 people on board

A plane chartered by Britain to evacuate its citizens and other foreign nationals on Friday departed the Chinese city at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak with 110 people aboard.

The civilian aircraft left Wuhan in central China at around 9:45 am local time (0145 GMT) carrying 83 Britons and 27 foreign citizens, according to the Foreign Office.

A small number of medics were on the plane to provide support to passengers, it said.

The jet will land at Brize Norton Royal Air Force base in central England at around 1:00 pm (1300 GMT) local time, then head to Spain where the remaining EU nationals will disembark.

The returning Britons will be isolated for 14 days at a medical facility in the northwest of England.

"It's welcome news that our evacuation flight has now left Wuhan," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.

"We know how distressing the situation has been for those waiting to leave. We have been working round the clock to clear the way for a safe departure."