Working groups organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan made afield trip to Sendai and Fukushima cities on March 15 to rescueVietnamese citizens from the areas that were hard hit by the March 11quake and tsunami.

Due to heavily damaged roads in the areas, theworking groups’ vehicles encountered a difficult approach route as theysought the scattered Vietnamese citizens.

Theworking groups are scheduled to visit Tohoku University Hospitalin Sendai city and the Fukushima airport in Fukushima city anddepart from there later on March 16.

During that time, theVietnamese embassy is promptly conducting relief and protective work forVietnamese citizens in Japan after the quake and tsunami.

Accordingto the Vietnamese Embassy, organisations and individuals can contactthe embassy via mobile phones: 0081 80-3001-3193 for the labourmanagement desk and 0081 80-4006-0234 for the student management desk,or via mail: vnembassyjp@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’snational flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, has announced an offer offree-of-charge flight ticket refund and change for passengers to or fromJapan on its flights from March 11 to May 10, the airline’sspokesman Le Hoang Dung said on March 15.

The carrier willprovide maximum assistance to Vietnamese families to buy tickets inVietnam for their relatives studying, living and working in Japanesewho want to return home soon.

Vietnam Airlines is operating 46flights a week on eight direct routes from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh Cityto four major Japanese cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. The airline is maintaining normal operations between the countries.

VietnamAirlines recommended passengers update information on its website:www.vietnamairlines.com or via mass media or travel agents for furtherinformation.

Assistance mobile contacts: +84-4-38320320 in Hanoi, +84-8-38320320 in Ho Chi Minh City,  +84-5113832 320 in Da Nang.+81-335081481 in Tokyo , +81-647080900 in Osaka , +81-924730500 inFukuoka , +81-525835171 in Nagoya. /.