First group of evacuees from Sudan to land in Bangkok tomorrow
Royal Thai Air Force sent three aircraft along with medical personnel and medical supplies to complete the evacuation of Thais fleeing fighting in Sudan.
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has sent three aircraft along with medical personnel and medical supplies to complete the evacuation of Thais fleeing fighting in Sudan.
An Airbus A340-500 and two C-130 aircraft took off from the RTAF airport near Don Mueang at midnight on Tuesday. They will be picking up 223 Thai evacuees from Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.
The group had been transported from Khartoum to Port Sudan before being taken on a boat to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The first group of evacuees is expected to land at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport at about 10pm on Thursday and the second group on Friday morning at about 9am.
According to Air Chief Marshal Alongkorn Vannarot, commander-in-chief of the RTAF, the two groups, mostly students, had registered for evacuation from Sudan and 82 had already boarded a ship at Port Sudan heading for Jeddah. He did not elaborate on the exact number of evacuees.
He added that RTAF officers will screen the arrivals and give first priority to women, children, the elderly and the sick.
Fierce fighting erupted in Khartoum on April 15 between forces allied with two generals linked to Sudan’s 2021 coup.
Efforts to extract foreign nationals from Sudan intensified on Tuesday as a 72-hour ceasefire took effect, but gunfire could still be heard in the capital.
The World Health Organisation reports say 420 people have been killed in the conflict so far and over 3,700 others have been wounded. More than half of the victims are civilians, reports say.
