Australia, New Zealand scramble to evacuate tourists from riot-hit New Caledonia
- New Caledonia’s main airport remains closed to commercial flights, stranding thousands amid a week of deadly riots
- Six people have been killed and the unrest has left a trail of burnt-out cars and shops, with road barricades restricting access to medicine and food
There were around 3,200 people waiting to leave or enter New Caledonia as commercial flights were cancelled due to the unrest that broke out last week, the local government has said.
New Zealand, Japanese and some Australian tourists had left with consular officials to travel to the domestic airport, staff and tourists at one Noumea hotel said on Tuesday afternoon.
Australian officials said passengers are being prioritised based on need. Those left behind are frustrated, said Australian Benen Huntley, honeymooning with wife Emily, and among a dozen Australians remaining at the hotel who don’t know when they can leave.
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“My wife is quite upset, we just want to get home,” he said in a telephone interview. “We opened our hotel door this morning and you could just see an enormous billow of smoke coming off a building in the distance.”
