Over 200 Afghan refugees safely reach Vancouver

Just over 200 Afghan refugees are now safe in Vancouver after arriving on a charter plane from Pakistan last night.

Federal officials say 209 people were on the flight, most of them workers and their families who assisted the Canadian government in Afghanistan in the months and years before the Taliban took power in August.

The group is the largest so far to arrive in B-C and it's expected that all but about 50 will stay in Vancouver, while the rest will join family in other parts of the country.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says more than seven-thousand refugees have now reached safety in Canada as they escape the humanitarian crisis in their homeland.