Overseas Koreans and Chinese Families Arrive on 3rd Wuhan Charter Flight... 5 Symptomatic Passengers Transported

Two Accompanying Children Also Transported... Asymptomatic Individuals Sent to Temporary Living Facility in Icheon, Gyeonggi

Koreans and Chinese families who stayed in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, arrived at Seoul Gimpo International Airport on the 12th and are disembarking from the Korean Air charter flight. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy, Gimpo Airport = Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] The government's third charter flight carrying Korean residents and Chinese family members living near Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), arrived at Gimpo International Airport on the morning of the 12th.

Seven passengers, including those with symptoms and accompanying children, were transferred to the National Medical Center, while the remaining Korean residents and their families were moved to a temporary living facility set up at the Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related agencies, Korean Air flight KE9884 departed Wuhan Tianhe International Airport at 4:14 a.m. and arrived at Gimpo Airport around 6:23 a.m. The charter flight carried 147 passengers, including about 60 Chinese family members.

Passengers began disembarking from the plane around 6:50 a.m. Most of the Korean residents and their families wore masks and showed signs of fatigue. Some child passengers also appeared sporadically. An airport official stated, "Since Chinese family members were also on board this charter flight, there were quite a few child passengers."

After undergoing fever checks and other screenings at a temporary quarantine station set up on the tarmac, the Korean residents and their families took remote buses to the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) to complete immigration procedures.

Initially, the authorities planned to transport about 170 Korean residents and Chinese family members on the third charter flight, but the actual number was 147. An official explained, "We understand that some extended family members who were not direct relatives applied to board, and those who could not prove family relationships were denied boarding."

Some symptomatic individuals were also identified on this charter flight. According to the police, a total of five symptomatic individuals (two men and three women) were confirmed on the flight. Among them, one person had mild symptoms while boarding in China, and the other four showed symptoms such as fever during the quarantine process. They were transported by ambulance to the National Medical Center. Additionally, two accompanying children without symptoms were also transported with the symptomatic individuals. These children are reported to be the children of the symptomatic persons.

The remaining approximately 140 Korean residents and family members boarded police buses and moved to the temporary living facility set up in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. To prevent possible infections, the passengers maintained spacing while seated on the bus. They will be quarantined for 14 days after arriving at the temporary living facility.

Meanwhile, including the first and second charter flights that arrived on the 31st of last month and the 1st of this month, the total number of Korean residents and families returning from Wuhan on the third charter flight has increased to 848.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.