Sri Lankan students in China begin their journey back home

Colombo (News 1st) - Around 60 Sri Lankan students residing in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan China are scheduled to return to the island today. Additional Secretary to the President Admiral Jayanath Colombage said the students are scheduled to arrive in the country at 5.30 this evening on board an Air China aircraft. 60  out of 150 Sri Lankan students in Chengdu would arrive in the country today, while the rest of the students are expected to arrive at 5.30 pm on Thursday. Admiral Jayanath Colombage said Air China had been requested to provide the students with air tickets at a discounted price. A special aircraft belonging to SriLankan Airlines was scheduled to travel to China today in order to transport the Sri Lankan students back to Sri Lanka. However, Colombage said, the Chinese government had notified Sri Lankan authorities to not carry out such an action. Over 100 Sri Lankan students residing in areas such as Beijing and Shanghai in China are scheduled to arrive in the island this morning. 21 Sri Lankan students arrived in the island last night from Tianjing, China.