As the coronavirus crisis has deepened in China, Sri Lanka on Saturday evacuated its citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan which has emerged as the epicentre of the deadly virus.
A special Sri Lankan Airlines flight brought 33 Sri Lankan Students from Wuhan. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the Chinese government for their cooperation bringing back the students.
"Due to great diplomatic relations between #LKA & #China we were successful in evacuating our citizens in #Wuhan, under lockdown. I thank Govt of #China for their cooperation, and @MFA_SriLanka @airforcelk @Sri_Lanka_Army @MoH_SriLanka & @flysrilankanfor your incredible support," Rajapaksa tweeted.
Several countries have sped up the evacuation process after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global health crisis.
India and Turkey have also carried out the evacuation of their citizens from Wuhan as the death toll from the disease spiked to 259 and with over 11,000 confirmed cases in China alone.
A cargo plane evacuated 42 Turkish and Georgia nationals from Wuhan to Ankara, Al Jazeera reported.
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Earlier, India evacuated 324 Indian nationals, including three minors and 211 students, from Wuhan.
Moreover, Russia's aerospace defence forces, part of the armed forces, will start evacuating Russian citizens on Saturday from China.