Flight Departs for North Korea Despite Ebola Tour Ban

Beijing: A commercial flight took off from Beijing for North Korea on Friday, despite travel agencies saying they had been told the isolated state would close its borders to foreign tourists over Ebola fears.

The Air China flight departed Beijing Capital International Airport Friday afternoon with 32 passengers on board, according to the airline's duty manager.

"My visa seems not to be affected," said German traveller Arne Hothan as he waited to board, a day after three travel agencies said Pyongyang was closing its border to foreign tourists.

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"The chance of people who travel to North Korea... have the virus is probably very very low, so I think that it's not really a good reason to cancel the visa."

The travel agencies -- including two that are based in China -- issued statements Thursday informing clients that the country was closing itself to tourists until further notice because of the threat of the disease.

The epidemic has killed nearly 4,900 people in West Africa, and some countries have banned travellers and flights from Ebola-hit countries