Coronavirus: Air India flight carrying second batch of Indians evacuated from Wuhan lands in Delhi today

Air India evacuated 323 more Indians from Wuhan in China in its second special flight, which landed at Delhi airport on Sunday morning. Earlier, a special Air India plane carrying 324 Indians landed in the national capital on Saturday.

Wuhan is the epicenter of outbreak of novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 300 people in China. An Air India spokesperson said at 9.45 am, "323 passengers were there in the second special flight, which landed at Delhi airport just now."

The flight took off from Wuhan at 3:10 am (IST) and is expected to land in New Delhi at 9:20 am, Kumar said.

"Second Air India special flight from Wuhan departed at 0540 hours, i.e. 0310 (IST). The flight time is six hours. It is expected to land in Delhi by 0920 hours Indian time," Kumar said.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri tweeted on Sunday that the flight carries 323 Indian citizens on board, while 7 Maldives citizens "are also being evacuated".

"The 2nd #AirIndia flight from #Wuhan has just taken off for #Delhi with 323 Indian citizens on board. 7 Maldives citizens are also being evacuated. Grateful once again to @MFA_China and local authorities all across #Hubei for their assistance," Misri tweeted.

Earlier, Kumar had said that the team of doctors on the aircraft would be the same as on the first, while the crew has changed, adding that the flight operation would still be led by Air India's Director of Operations Captain Amitabh Singh.

The flight carrying the first batch of Indians had landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Saturday. Of the 324 passengers, three were minors and 211 were students.

The virus originated in Wuhan in December and has since then spread to various cities around the world.

Several countries including India have sped up the evacuation process after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global health crisis.

On the other hand, the death toll from coronavirus on Sunday reached 304 following 45 new deaths in China's Hubei Province, NHK reported citing health authorities.

The virus originated in Wuhan city in December and has since then spread to various cities around the world. The confirmed cases of coronavirus in China have now surged past 14,000.

China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.

Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic as the virus continues to spread, with cases reported in Australia, France, the United States and seven Asian countries besides China.

(With ANI Inputs)

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