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The airline is awaiting necessary approvals from the ministries of external affairs and health to operate the special flight, the source said. The health ministry’s nod is required because the operating crew has to fly in a virus outbreak territory.
“We have kept a Boeing 747-400 ready in Mumbai to operate an evacuation flight to China whenever we get a go ahead from the government,” the source said.
Some 250 Indians are to be evacuated.
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Accordingly, Ministry of External Affairs will make a request to the Chinese authorities for evacuation of Indian nationals, mostly students, stuck in Wuhan city. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health will make arrangements for transport and quarantine facilities respectively, an official release said on Monday.
Wuhan along 12 other cities have been completely sealed by the Chinese authorities to stop the virus from spreading. The death toll climbed to 80 with 2,744 confirmed cases.