Stranded couple rescued – thanks to the examiner
BUT NO HELP FROM UK AUTHORITIES
A COUPLE marooned on an east Asian island by the global coronavirus shutdown have been rescued – thanks to the Examiner.
On Monday, Georgina Lodge and James Hepworth revealed they were stuck on a Philippino island, alone in a hotel that was threatening to force them out.
The couple were trapped on Palawan Island because all flights back to the mainland were suspended by the authorities in a bid to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The authorities were only allowing people to travel if they had flights out of the country guaranteed, which the couple were unable to arrange as international flights were in chaos also.
They contacted the UK Embassy last week but say they received no help other than lip service.
Yesterday, Georgina, 27, who comes from Lindley, revealed that they had now been saved after Philippino authorities read about their plight on the Examiner’s sister website YorkshireLive.
Speaking from the country’s main airport in Manila, Georgina said: “We had NO assistance from the UK government at any point, other than sporadic, generic emails.
“The Philippines authorities flew us back to the mainland for free.
“This was a result of Palawan News seeing the article, finding us and assisting us. Kind locals offered us free accommodation and food along the arduous journey, but the UK, absolutely nothing.”
Georgina said the flights home had cost them £2,500 each, about five times more than a typical price.
Earlier this week, the Foreign Office told the Examiner it had teams around the world working urgently to ensure that governments had sensible plans to enable the return of British and other travellers.
They added: “We recognise that any British people currently overseas may be nervous about the impact of coronavirus on their travel and their health.
“We are in close contact with travel providers and our international partners to provide support to those British people affected by ongoing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”