Coronavirus outbreak: Air India plane leaves for Wuhan to evacuate Indians

An Air India plane depart from Delhi airport at 12.30 pm on Friday to Wuhan to evacuate Indian nationals who are stuck in China where 213 people have died due to novel coronavirus outbreak.

Air India has dispatched a 423-seater jumbo B747 to evacuate Indian nationals as the neighbouring country deals with the outbreak.

"The B747 plane is all set to depart from Delhi at 12.30 pm. It came from Mumbai on Friday morning only," a senior airline official said.

"At least 400 Indians will be evacuated today from Wuhan in China by Air India flight. It will take off at 12 pm today and will return by 2 am tomorrow. Further arrangements will be done by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) AMD Health Ministry for passengers after they reach India," Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani said on Friday morning. 

PTI reported that the government has reached out to over 600 Indians living in China's Hubei province, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, to ascertain their willingness to be brought back to India.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government said that the MEA had made a formal request to China for facilitating the evacuation of Indian Nationals from Wuhan.  

The Ministry of Civil Aviation will make the necessary arrangements for evacuation after approval of the Chinese authorities is received, it had said, adding that the Indian Embassy in Beijing was in contact with the Indian nationals. 

On evacuation, these individuals will be kept in quarantine for 14 days.  Necessary arrangements in this regard are being made.

The UN health agency World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declared a global emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus after the number of dead rose to 213 and the confirmed cases of infection reached 9,692 in China. 

The WHO said there have been 82 confirmed cases in 18 other countries, including cases of onward transmission in Germany, Japan, the United States, and Vietnam.