Former chancellor gets VIP evacuation

Sri Lanka’s air force evacuated former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl from the hotel where he was stranded by a tidal wave.

A helicopter collected Kohl and six other people from his hotel in Thalpe, near the region worst-hit by Sunday’s massive waves, and took them to the German embassy in Colombo.

“He had gone with a team on holiday down south. He had been stranded and asking for assistance,” said air force commander, Air Marshal Donald Perera.

“The helicopter went and we managed to bring him back with six others.”