Authorities take care of Thais from Egypt

BANGKOK, August 19 (TNA) - Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says that she has assigned Transport Minister Chatchart Sittipunt and Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister Police Major General Thawat Boonfueng to take good care of Thai nationals who were returning home from violence-plagued Egypt. Yingluck told journalists on Monday morning, before leaving Thailand's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport for her official visits to Tajikistan and Pakistan from August 19-21, that assistance and the evacuation of the Thai people from Egypt happened smoothly, thanks to well-preparations from Thai authorities concerned, including staffs at the Thai Embassy in Cairo, Egypt's capital, who have worked around the clock. The prime minister acknowledged that she is concerned over the remaining Thai nationals who have opted not to return home and she has, therefore, ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make sure that they are in safe places, including in nearby countries. The prime minister admitted that she is also worried over the situation in Egypt and she does not want to see violence there, noting that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already informed the Egyptian Ambassador in Bangkok that Thailand calls for an end to violence and hopes that the international community will help by applying peaceful processes to solve problems in Egypt. Meanwhile, Sorajak Kasemsuvan, President of Thai Airways International (THAI), confirmed, that the national airline provided special flights to take the evacuating Thai people in Egypt from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to Thailand. THAI had arranged its 365-seat Boeing 747-400 aircraft, special flights No. TG 8476 and TG 8477, to carry the evacuating Thai people back home. The Boeing 747-400 plane left Bangkok, via the outbound TG 8476 flight, at about 8pm on August 18, while the plane, carrying the Thais home from Dubai, arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport at about 11:45am on August 19, via the inbound TG 8477 flight. (TNA)