India ready to evacuate its nationals, 747 on standby

New Delhi: India on Tuesday began the process of the evacuation of its nationals stranded in Wuhan city and other parts of Hubei province of China following the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus there. New Delhi said it was working out logistics with the Chinese government.

“We have begun the process to prepare for evacuation of Indian nationals affected by the situation arising out of Corona-2019 virus outbreak in Hubei Province, China. Our @EOIBeijing (Embassy of India in Beijing) is working out the logistics and is in touch with the Chinese govt authorities and  our nationals on this matter. We will continue to share updates,” MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

According to reports on Monday, an Air India Boeing 747 jumbo jet has been kept on standby for the evacuation of Indians.

A significant number of Indian students study at the central Chinese industrial city of Wuhan, epicentre of the outbreak, which is an educational hub that has prestigious technical and medical education institutes.

India had earlier said it was closely monitoring the situation in China in view of the coronavirus outbreak there, as the Indian embassy in Beijing had last Friday decided to “call off the Republic Day reception” in the Chinese capital on January 26 in view of the decision of the Chinese authorities to “cancel public gatherings and events”.

The Indian embassy had earlier said: “Embassy of India has been receiving queries from Indians in Hubei province as well as their relatives in India with the evolving situation of the coronavirus epidemic in China. In this regard, Embassy of India is in touch with relevant Chinese authorities in Beijing and Wuhan as well as Indians in Hubei Province, especially in Wuhan. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in China, including advisories issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in this connection.”