Coronavirus: IAF to use its largest transport jet for Wuhan evacuation tomorrow

The aircraft will carry a large consignment of medical supplies to China

C-17 IAF Representational image of an Indian Air Force C-17 | Indian Air Force

India will send a C-17 military transport aircraft to the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to evacuate more Indians and deliver a consignment of medical supplies to people affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), official sources said.

The C-17 Globemaster, built in the US, is the largest military aircraft in the Indian Air Force's inventory. The plane can carry large combat equipment, troops and humanitarian aid across long distances in all weather conditions.

The sources told PTI that the aircraft will carry a large consignment of medical supplies to China and bring back more Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic.

India's national carrier, Air India, has already evacuated around 640 Indians from Wuhan in two separate flights.

According to estimates, over 100 Indians are still living in Wuhan, some of whom decided not to return to India. A number of countries have evacuated their citizens from China and restricted movement of people and goods to and from China.

All the Indians who want to return to India will be brought back in the IAF aircraft on Thursday as Indian embassy has reached out to the Indian citizens stuck in Wuhan, the sources said.

Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong, addressing a press conference, said there was no case of any infection among the Indians in Wuhan currently and that the authorities are taking "good care" of them.

Sun appreciated India for extending solidarity and expressing readiness to assist China to deal with the epidemic.

Last week, India announced that it will send medicines as well as other medical supplies for coronavirus-hit people in China.

In a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed solidarity with people of China over the outbreak of the virus and offered India's assistance to deal with it.