2nd flight carrying 323 Indians from coronavirus-hit Wuhan lands in Delhi
Four Indians could not board the second flight after they reported high temperatures
The second Air India special flight carrying 323 more Indians from China's coronavirus-hit city, Wuhan landed at Delhi airport on Sunday morning.
The flight departed at 3:10am (IST) from Wuhan today and landed at New Delhi airport around 9:45am.
"The 2nd Air India flight from Wuhan has just taken off for Delhi with 323 Indian citizens on board. 7 Maldives citizens are also being evacuated," The Indian ambassador to China, Vikram Misri tweeted.
Four Indians could not board the second flight after they reported high temperatures, Misri confirmed.
The first Air India flight, a specially-prepped Boeing 747, brought back 324 Indians stranded in Wuhan on Saturday. Among those who returned were three minors and 211 students. Six Indians could not board the first flight as they were stopped by the Chinese immigration officials after they reported high temperature.
Seven Maldives citizens were also evacuated on the same plane. "Deep gratitude to PM Narendra Modi and EM Dr S Jaishankar. Special thanks to Ambassadors Vikram Misri and Sunjay Sudhir and their teams," Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahi tweeted.
He thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and local authorities across Hubei province for their assistance.
"A special word of appreciation for two of our officers who are on board the plane - Deepak Padmakumar and M Balakrishnan - they showed exemplary fortitude and a real spirit of public service by travelling to ground zero in Wuhan to coordinate airport arrangements. Kudos to both," Misri added.
The virus has killed more than 300 people and infected over 9,000 in China while two people from Kerala have tested positive for the virus in India.