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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Britons in Japan offered flights to Hong Kong | Britons in Japan offered flights to Hong Kong |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The UK government is chartering planes to fly from Tokyo to Hong Kong to help Britons who want to leave Japan. | |
| The Foreign Office said there would be no charge for Britons "directly affected" by the tsunami, but a charge of £600 would otherwise apply. | |
| However, the Foreign Office said the first option for people wanting to leave should remain commercial flights. | |
| Japan's east coast has been devastated by a tsunami which was triggered by an earthquake last Friday. | |
| Those areas not wiped out are suffering power cuts and water shortages. | |
| Marc Kemp, who works as an English teacher in Fukushima, said he had to bear in mind fuel shortages while planning to possibly leave the area. | |
| He told the BBC: "It's really forced us to re-evaluate how we would do these things, and last night we all sat down and worked out the logistics. | |
| "We do have a plan in mind, we know where we would go, where we know we have enough fuel, food and water to get where we would want to go." | |
| A Foreign Office statement said it continued to advise against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and north-eastern Japan and British nationals currently in Tokyo and to the north of Tokyo should consider leaving the area. | |
| Coach service | |
| A Foreign Office spokesman added: "The UK government is chartering flights from Tokyo to Hong Kong to supplement commercially available options for those wishing to leave Japan. | |
| "Commercial flights continue to operate to and from Japan. British nationals with commercial flight bookings should continue to use these flights and you should continue to make reservations and other arrangements with your airline as usual. | |
| "If you wish to leave and cannot secure tickets for a commercial flight, you can register your interest in using our charter option to leave Japan by calling 44 20 7008 6900." | "If you wish to leave and cannot secure tickets for a commercial flight, you can register your interest in using our charter option to leave Japan by calling 44 20 7008 6900." |
| The British embassy has also organised a coach to take Britons from Sendai to Tokyo. | The British embassy has also organised a coach to take Britons from Sendai to Tokyo. |
| British rescuers are still working to find survivors and bodies in the Tohoku region. | |
| One of the rescuers, Alan Downes, said: "We've seen total devastation in the areas affected. It's so significant, I struggle to comprehend how any community can move on from it. | One of the rescuers, Alan Downes, said: "We've seen total devastation in the areas affected. It's so significant, I struggle to comprehend how any community can move on from it. |
| "But people here are getting on and dealing with what's put in front of them." | "But people here are getting on and dealing with what's put in front of them." |
| Around 17,000 British nationals were believed to be in Japan last Friday but there have been no reports yet of fatalities. | Around 17,000 British nationals were believed to be in Japan last Friday but there have been no reports yet of fatalities. |