UC students evacuated from Egypt

Nineteen University of California students who were studying abroad in Egypt have been evacuated and transported to Barcelona, university officials said.

As of right now, UC Irvine believes no UCI students were in the country. Although it’s easier to see how many students are traveling abroad, it’s hard to find out if students have traveled independently to the region, a school spokesperson said.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Americans, and school officials decided to temporarily stop the study abroad program in Egypt this week.

“We are both happy and relieved that they have been delivered from what our overseas contacts described as an unstable situation,” UC President Mark Yudof said in a statement. “We have contingency plans in place for just these types of circumstance, and they worked.”

Besides the students, a team of 11 UCLA archeologists conducting a dig about 200 miles south of Cairo were transported out of the region.

iJet Intelligent Risk Systems organized the evacuations for students and staff, and provided a safe shelter while they waited to take their flight to Barcelona. iJet, as well as the Education Abroad Program staff, Risk Management Services at the UC Office of the President, and risk management staff at the UC campuses played crucial roles in making sure the students and staff were in a secure location, Yudof said in a statement.

The UC system has faced similar situations when earthquakes hit Chile and Haiti.

—Joanna Clay