First group of White South Africans granted refugee status depart to U.S.

The first group of White South Africans who were granted refugee status by the U.S. is set to fly out of Johannesburg on Sunday, officials said.

The flight from Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport was set to depart around 2 p.m. ET en route to Dakar for refueling before flying to Washington, D.C. The group includes 49 Afrikaner South Africans, made up of mainly families, as well as a few young couples in their twenties and older people.

"The application for the permit (to land) said it's the Afrikaners who are relocating to the USA as refugees," Collen Msibi, a spokesperson for the South African Transport Ministry, told AFP.