KATHMANDU, Feb 13: The government, in a bid to repatriate Nepali students in corona-virus-hit Hubei province in China, will fly them to Nepal in the wee hours of coming Sunday. Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA)'s Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari told National News Agency (RSS) that the government has made arrangements to return the Nepalis from Wuhan in China.
According to him, Nepal Airline's wide-body aircraft of model A-330 will fly to Wuhan on Saturday at 2:45 pm for the same. The aircraft is scheduled to land at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 2:15 am on Sunday.
Initial tests show Wuhan evacuees free of coronavirus
So far altogether 180 Nepalis staying across various cities in Wuhan have submitted their application at the Nepali Embassy in Beijing, China expressing their willingness to return Nepal. All those Nepalis scattered across Hubei provinces will be assembled in one location before flying them to Nepal from Wuhan, according to the MoCTCA. Secretary Adhikari, who also chairs the Nepal Airlines Corporation, shared that the team heading for Wuhan consists of three pilots, six-members cabin crew, two engineers, one each flight dispatcher and loadmaster (person responsible for cargo) and four medical officers from the Nepal Army.
Novel Coronovirus was first detected in Wuhan city of Hubei province on December 31, 2019. It has so far spread to 22 provinces of China and 24 countries. All preparations were underway to evacuate Nepalis from China in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, informed Adhikari. He asserted that it was the duty of the civil servants to abide by the decisions made by the government and diligently shoulder the responsibilities assigned to them.
Meanwhile, Corporation's Spokesperson Archana Khadka refuted the rumours doing round in the market that the Airline's pilots were reluctant to fly to China. She assured that all the staffers of the Airlines selected for the China-bound flight will discharge their duties diligently. The China returnees Nepalis will be quarantined at Kharipati in Bhaktapur for 14 days. Two buildings have been readied as a quarantine facility in the premises of Nepal Electricity Authority at Kharipati.
