Plane carrying 253 Nepalis takes off from Israel, to arrive after midnight

Setopati

Kathmandu, Oct 12

Photo: Foreign Minister Saud's Secretariat

A Nepal Airlines plane carrying 253 Nepali nationals has left for Nepal from Israel.

The plane took off from Tel Aviv Airport in Israel on Thursday afternoon and is scheduled to land at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu after midnight.

The 274-seater Airbus A-330-200 (9N ALZ) flight had taken off from the TIA with Foreign Minister NP Saud at 4 AM Thursday to bring back Nepalis stranded in Israel.

According to Foreign Minister Saud’s secretariat, the Nepal Airlines plane has left for Nepal carrying 253 Nepalis and will land in Kathmandu at 1:30 AM Friday.

There are currently 4,500 Nepalis working as caregivers in Israel and are reported to be safe, while 265 Nepali students were pursuing their studies in agriculture and other disciplines there.

Ten of the students were killed in Kibbutz Alumim, an area in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, in a surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Saturday.