The first Norwegian plane carrying Norwegian evacuees took off late Thursday night from Kabul airport in Afghanistan.
– I am glad that our first plane has now departed from Kabul. On board are Norwegian nationals, some Afghan family members of our local staff and some other European nationals, Foreign Minister In Eriksen Soered (H) tells NTB Thursday night.
The plane is scheduled to land in Tbilisi, Georgia, before arriving in Norway. The Armed Forces Operations Headquarters informed that Friday morning it is scheduled to land in Norway NRK.
We continue our extensive work to evacuate locally working Afghans and their families, as well as Norwegian citizens and people living in Norway. Eriksen Sored says the work is demanding and may take some time.
It is not known how many were on board.
More and more people are being evacuated
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that many expatriates at the Norwegian Embassy in Kabul have been evacuated to Norway. The same applies to nine personnel from the sanitation of the armed forces.
– I just met them. They are tired, but in good spirits and in good health. Eriksen Sored said they will now have follow-up and rest.
– They’ve had a long journey and dramatic experiences, she says.
These people were evacuated to their homes by the Danish Armed Forces. The plane, now en route from Kabul, is the first Norwegian to evacuate Norwegians from Afghanistan in the wake of the chaotic situation.
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Ask people to sign up
The Norwegian authorities do not have any confirmed figures on the number of Norwegian citizens in Afghanistan.
Therefore, the Secretary of State encourages all Norwegian citizens who are in Afghanistan to register reiseregistrering.no.
– Registration is voluntary, but it is an important tool for us that gives us an overview of the number of Norwegian citizens in Afghanistan, she says.
The minister also mentioned that the Norwegian Embassy in Kabul cannot provide regular consular assistance as long as it is closed. Inquiries to the Embassy are automatically sent to the State Department’s Operations Center in Oslo, which is now open 24 hours a day and will answer phones and emails.
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