Three air force planes en route to Saudi Arabia to help complete evacuation
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) sent three aircraft to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night to repatriate Thai people evacuated from conflict-torn Sudan. They are expected to arrive at Don Mueang Airport around 8pm tomorrow.
The two C-130s and an Airbus A340-500 departed from the air force’s Royal 6 airport next to Don Mueang, said air force spokesman AVM Prapas Sornchaidee.
The planes are headed to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had designated as the gathering place for Thai nationals wishing to return home.
The Airbus will pick up Thai people evacuated from Sudan on Monday, while the C-130s would remain on standby for those unable to join the first round of repatriation, AVM Prapas said, adding that they could also fly to Sudan if the opportunity arises.
Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said 212 Thai nationals and three foreign spouses had expressed their desire to return to Thailand as of Monday.
The foreign ministry, the Royal Thai Embassy in Cairo, and the honorary consul in Sudan assisted in providing buses in Khartoum on Monday that took them to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, the staging point for efforts to help nationals of several countries get to Saudi Arabia.
From Port Sudan the Thais were to board a ship provided by the Saudi Arabian government for a trip expected to take around 15 hours. They would then board buses to Jeddah and fly to Thailand. The flight time is about eight hours. They will arrive at Don Mueang around 8pm Wednesday, said Ms Rachada.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said five Thai nationals living in a part of Sudan where there is no fighting had also registered to return. The ministry will send a vehicle to collect this group, he added.
Fierce clashes erupted in Sudan on April 15 between forces allied with two generals involved in a 2021 coup.
Rescue operations to extract foreign nationals intensified on Tuesday as a 72-hour ceasefire took effect, but gunfire still rang out in the capital Khartoum.
The World Health Organization said that more than 450 people have been killed and over 4,000 wounded so far.