PHNOM PENH, March 27 — France and Malaysia have organised chartered flights to fly out hundreds of their citizens stranded in Cambodia after South-east Asian nation sealed borders and cancelled flights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are trying to find solutions for stranded French tourists who have their flights cancelled or can not go through transit hubs in the region anymore,” Hugo Wavrin, political and press counsellor at the French Embassy in Cambodia told Reuters today.
A special charter flight departed yesterday with 413 French people on board, Wavrin said.
He said another 100 French nationals will be leaving Cambodia tomorrow and many more will be leaving in the next two days aboard regular commercial flights.
Malaysia also sent a special plane to take home 111 stranded Malaysian nationals on Wednesday, said Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn.
At the same time, Cambodia coordinated with Malaysia to repatriate six Cambodians stranded in Malaysia, Sokhonn said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Cambodia reported two new coronavirus cases yesterday, taking its total to 98, the health ministry said. — Reuters
