The long awaited disembarkation from the Diamond Princess began today after a fortnight long quarantine following an outbreak of the Coronavirus onboard. The ship had been quarantined just off the Japanese in attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.
The FCO have said that those who disembark today may not be able to board the evacuation flight and they are currently trying to organise a charter flight back home to the United Kingdom from Tokyo for residents who were onboard (believed to total 74).
The FCO released a statement saying: “We hope the flight will be later this week, subject to permissions from the Japanese authorities.
“We have the utmost concern for the affected Britons and strongly encourage them to register for the evacuation flight.”
It is expected that around 500 of the 3,700 passengers will disembark the ship today (February, 19), and the rest following in the coming days with the disembarkation being completed by Friday.
The US has already evacuated 300 of its citizens who were onboard via two charter flights, with other countries also organising repatriation of citizens this week.
