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 China's coronavirus-hit people, official sources said.
The C-17 Globemaster 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.
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 sizeable 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, sources said.
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong, addressing a press conference, said there was no case of any infection among the Indians in Wuhan as of today and that the authorities are taking "good care" of them. Sun appreciated India for extending solidarity and expressing readiness to assist China in dealing with the epidemic.
China's National Health Commission on Tuesday said the death toll due to the outbreak climbed to 1,868 on Monday while the total number of confirmed cases jumped to 72,436.
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.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
BMW To Recall 1.4 Million Cars In China Over Faulty Airbags China's Driverless 'Robotaxis': Sci-fi Marvels Or Safety Concerns? Chinese Woman's Refusal To Stow Louis Vuitton Bag Causes Major Flight Delay, Goes Viral Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Pak-Origin 26/11 Accused Tahawwur Rana Can Be Sent To India: US Court Mumbai University Invites Applications For Distance Learning Courses 17 Palestinians Killed In Israeli Strike On Gaza Amid Raging War Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.