Plane leaves Wuhan with 83 Britons and 27 foreigners aboard

BEIJING (Reuters) – A plane carrying 83 British and 27 foreign nationals flew out on Friday from China’s central city of Wuhan, the center of a virus epidemic that has killed more than 200 and infected more than 9,000, the British government said.

The civilian aircraft chartered by the Foreign Office left Wuhan at 9.45 a.m., the government said in a notice on its website.

It is due to arrive at 1 p.m. in Britain later on Friday, before continuing on to Spain, where the home countries of European Union citizens will take responsibility for the remaining passengers.

“We know how distressing the situation has been for those waiting to leave,” Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, according to the notice. “We have been working round the clock to clear the way for a safe departure.”