IAF flight brings back Indians and other nationals stranded in Wuhan: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, February 27, said that the Indian Air Force plane which was sent to Wuhan to provide for medical supplies has brought back 76 Indians and 36 nationals from seven countries to India. Taking to the micro-blogging site Twitter, Jaishankar said that he appreciated the facilitation provided by the Chinese government.

He also said that 36 nationals belonged to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, China, South Africa, USA, and Madagascar. The IAF plane which was sent to China with 15 tonnes of medical supplies landed in Wuhan on Wednesday.

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Jaishakar further thanked Air India for recusing the Indian Crew members and passengers aboard the Diamond Princess Cruise. The Air India flight also brought back five nationals from Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, and Peru, he added.

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IAF sends medical consignment

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had said the medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of coronavirus infection which was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation. It said the aircraft carried medical supplies comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment. 

"The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year," the MEA said in a statement.

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138 Indians were quarantined in Japan

After being quarantined for over 23 days in Japan, all Indian Crew members and passengers aboard the Diamond Princess Cruise boarded an Air India flight, sent by the government of India on Wednesday. The passengers and crew will be brought to Delhi first.

A total of 138 Indians, 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people, on board the ship when it docked at the Yokohama port near Tokyo, on February 3. It was quarantined after a passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong was found to be a carrier of the disease. The ship has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside China. Two former passengers of the ship have also been reported dead.

Coronavirus outbreak

The new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has claimed more than 2,744 lives in mainland China, according to the National Health Commission and has infected more than 81,000 people since December 2019.

The virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, where animals were being traded illegally. Hubei province in China has been most affected by the contagious disease, which is also the epicentre of the virus. 

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