First Dutch return from Nepal; evacuation plan detailed

By Janene Pieters on April 28, 2015 - 08:38
Nepal earthquake
Rescuers assist a victim after a devastating earthquake in Nepal. April 25, 2015. (photo: OxfamNovib). (Rescuers assist a victim after a devastating earthquake in Nepal. April 25, 2015. (photo: OxfamNovib))

Ten Dutch citizens left Nepal on Monday and are on their way back to he Netherlands. This is the first group to come back after the Asian country was hit by a massive earthquake on Saturday.

The Dutch group left from Kathmandu on Monday on regular flights.  Also on board are two Britons, a Belgian, two Germans, a Ugandan and one person from Kyrgyzstan, NU reports. The group has arrived safely at Schiphol airport. "I come from Kathmandu and we have seen violent things", one of the returnees told NOS at the airport. "We were in a restaurant, luckily in a good area where we could immediately lie down on the ground. Fortunately not close to buildings, because so many collapsed. It was really intense."

More and more Dutch people have announced that they want to leave Nepal. According to the newspaper, they will be traveling home in the coming days either on commercial flights or flights organized by alarm center SOS International and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A military aircraft carrying mainly elderly people, pregnant women and people with small children is also expected to land at Eindhoven Airport on Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these are people who live in Kathmandu. The Ministry and SOS International have also deployed another aircraft for 80 people, which is currently on it's way to Nepal from Jordan. The plane is expected to arrive in Nepal during the course of Tuesday morning, from where it fly to Rotterdam The Hague Airport. It is expected to arrive in Rotterdam on Wednesday. This flight is also primarily attended for vulnerable group such as children and the elderly.

There were about 500 Dutch people in Nepal at the time of the earthquake. There have been no contact from about 100 of them. "But that does not have to mean that something is wrong. There is hardly any communication", according to Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs.

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