China flies 1,299 nationals home from Kyrgyzstan

China has evacuated 1,299 nationals from Kyrgyzstan where ethnic clashes have left at least 187 people dead, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The last chartered flight of China Southern Airlines, with 148 Chinese nationals aboard, landed at an airport in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 1:30 a.m. (Beijing time) Thursday from Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan.

The return of the ninth chartered flight means the end of the three-day massive evacuation, which started on Tuesday.

"After three days of efforts, the vast majority of Chinese nationals in Osh have been flown home," said Sun Dali, deputy director of the Department of Consular Affairs with the Foreign Ministry.

"But we will continue to pay attention to and contact the Chinese nationals who are still staying in Kyrgyzstan, and offer immediate assistance to them in light of the changes of the local situation," he added.

Source: Xinhua