Malaysians evacuated from Bangladesh expected to arrive at KLIA this afternoon

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 100 Malaysians evacuated from Dhaka, Bangladesh are expected to arrive in the country around 4:10 p.m. today.

Earlier, media reports indicated that the special flight, ordered by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 at 7:30 a.m. today.

According to Berita Harian, the AirAsia flight, using an Airbus A330 capable of carrying 350 passengers, is expected to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka at 9:20 a.m. local time.

Datuk Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin, Secretary of the South Asia and Central Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is leading the mission, stated that more than 100 Malaysians, including students, have been sheltered at the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka since yesterday.

She mentioned that the mission was planned since July 12 and its execution took the shortest time, less than 12 hours.

The day before yesterday, the Bangladeshi government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the military following clashes between protesters and police during student protests.