NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — Australia and New Zealand sent airplanes to New Caledonia on Tuesday to begin bringing home stranded citizens from the violence-wracked French South Pacific territory.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had received clearance from French authorities for two flights to evacuate citizens from the archipelago, where indigenous people have long sought independence from France.
Hours later, a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules touched down in Noumea, the capital. The plane can carry 124 passengers, according to the Defense Department.
“We continue to work on further flights,” Wong wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said 300 Australians were in New Caledonia. It did not immediately confirm whether the Australian-organized flights would also evacuate other stranded foreign nationals, believed to number in the thousands.
Celebrity tequila brands, like George Clooney
New York City jail guard suffers burns from body camera igniting
Soccer fans now have a day to celebrate the world's most popular sport
Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment fails in acrimonious end to legislative session
Beraldo selected in central defense for PSG to face Dortmund in Champions League semifinal
Judge: Alabama groups can sue over threat of prosecution for helping with abortion travel