The plane with 35 Dutch evacuees from the Afghan capital Kabul has arrived in Amsterdam. The C-17 transport plane landed at Schiphol Airport just before 23: 00.
This brings the total number of Dutch people that have been brought back from Afghanistan to about fifty, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The aircraft also contained sixteen Belgians, two Germans and two British. There is a sleeping place available for them in Amsterdam. There is also medical and psychological support for evacuees who need it.
Three a day.
More evacuation flights are planned today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. How many flights are involved is not known. Last day, Colonel Peter Tankink said that the Ministry of Defense wants to evacuate people from Kabul three times a day in the near future. He is responsible for coordinating the evacuations.
The evacuees are supposed to fly from Afghanistan to a country there in the region. From there they are transported to the Netherlands with a larger aircraft.
30 minutes in Kabul.
In Kabul itself, the evacuation must take place quickly, Colonel Tankink said. "As soon as a plane stops and the doors open, we get thirty minutes to let people get in. Then the doors close and the plane leaves. Those who are at the airport but miss the flight, can join the next flight."
The aim is not to leave seats empty. "If we have room for Germans, British or others, we take them with us".
New embassy team.
The evacuations will be accompanied from Kabul by a new embassy team, which arrived today. It concerns ambassador Wijgers, a consular emergency team and 62 soldiers who are responsible for security.
The team replaces the employees who were lifted from their beds by American soldiers on Sunday and brought to the airport by rail. Local embassy staff found an abandoned embassy in the morning. It was not bad will, said outgoing minister Kaag (Foreign Affairs). "They had to leave immediately on instruction".
Afghans in barracks.
It is expected that in the coming time 166 Afghans will come to the Netherlands who have worked for the Dutch government in their home country, such as interpreters. Their families are coming too. For the Afghans a barracks has been set up in the Groningen town of Zoutkamp.
Shelter organization COA says there is room for 540 people. Everyone must be quarantined for ten days upon arrival. That means they can't leave the barracks.
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