Charter flight carrying South Koreans from Wuhan arrives home

SEOUL (Reuters) - A charter flight carrying 367 South Koreans from Wuhan, the epicentre of a virus outbreak in China, landed at the Gimpo International Airport on Friday, South Korea’s foreign ministry said.

The first of up to four flights planned to evacuate South Koreans from Wuhan departed on Friday morning, after an unexpected hours-long delay because China had only approved one flight.

Around 700 South Koreans have signed up for the charter flights.

The government will isolate the evacuees for at least two weeks at two facilities in Asan and Jincheon, cities about 80 km (50 miles) south of capital Seoul, to rule out any symptoms. They will be housed in buildings normally used as training centres for government officials.

South Korea reported its fifth and sixth confirmed cases of the virus on Thursday, including the first patient infected in South Korea. Previous cases only involved people who had travelled to Wuhan.

(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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