About 60 Singaporeans and permanent residents have left Kathmandu for Singapore on a C-130 on Tuesday afternoon.

Another three Singaporeans will be leaving on a second C-130, which is flying to Singapore via Phuket.

The first plane left at 3pm Nepal time (5.15pm Singapore time) and is flying straight to Singapore, while the second is expected to depart by 7pm Nepal time.

All three Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 planes landed in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Plans to evacuate Singaporeans from quake-hit Nepal were delayed when the three C-130 planes could not land at Kathmandu airport on Monday because of congestion.

RSAF updated on Facebook at 4pm on Tuesday that they were unloading their equipment and supplies at Kathmandu Airport.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen posted on his Facebook on Tuesday that about 80 men and women from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), have arrived in Kathmandu with equipment and aid to join other relief workers to assist Nepal.

The Singapore contingent has been assigned to the village of Sankhu, about 50km from Kathmandu, by local authorities. The village has been flattened by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake which hit on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the contingent was assessing the ground situation, and setting up a temporary operations centre.