France evacuates 112 stranded citizens from Kerala, Tamil Nadu

France on Saturday evacuated 112 French citizens stranded in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in a special Air India flight, official sources said here. The Embassy of France had made a request to the Kerala government to facilitate the journey of the French citizens stranded due to the lockdown announced by the central government to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

The French citizens, mostly tourists and those who came for Ayurvedic treatment, were brought here by the state tourism department 24 days ahead of their trip. They underwent a medical examination before boarding the flight for Paris from Cochin International Airport at 08.13 am on Saturday, officials said.

The Air India flight was chartered by the French government for evacuating its citizens in various cities in India including Kochi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. On Friday, Gulf nation Oman had evacuated its 46 citizens stranded in Kochi in an Oman Air flight.