175 Nepalis airlifted from Hubei

Kathmandu: One hundred and seventy-five Nepali nationals from six different cities across Hubei Province of the People’s Republic of China were airlifted from Wuhan this morning by a charter flight of Nepal Airlines.

Of the 175 nationals, 170 are students, one employee, two visitors, and two children.

The flight that departed for Nepal at 00:52 am Wuhan local time landed at Tribhuvan International Airport at 03:22 am local time.

The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing had arranged six separate vehicles to bring the Nepali nationals from different cities of Hubei Province to the airport.

The numbers of Nepali nationals from the six cities who boarded the flight include 55 from Wuhan, 25 from Enshi, 29 from Shiyan, eight from Yichang, nine from Jingmen, and 48 from Jingzhou, according to a statement released by the Embassy earlier today.

Of them, 134 are male and 41 are female. Out of the 185 applicants, four later decided to stay back in China while six could not board the plane due to medical reasons.

Necessary procedures including temperature checks were completed before boarding the plane. The returnees will be kept in quarantine for at least 14 days in Kharipati, Bhaktapur before they go to their respective homes.

Meanwhile, 100,000 pieces of face masks donated by the Government of Nepal to the Chinese Government through the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu were brought to Wuhan on the same flight, and were handed over to Hubei Charity Federation at the airport.

The Embassy of Nepal, Beijing has expressed its sincere thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China for its support and co-operation in facilitating the process of sending back the Nepali nationals.

The Embassy also expresses its profound thanks to the Civil Aviation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CAAC), Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) of the Hubei Provincial People’s Government of China, the concerned Universities of Hubei Province, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, and the local transport authorities of Hubei for their valuable support and co-operation extended to the Embassy in the process, adds the statement.

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