Nearly 30 Sacramento-area students remain stranded in Afghanistan

Close to 30 students in California's San Juan Unified School District remain stranded in Afghanistan this week following the official U.S. departure Monday from county.

Officials with the Sacramento-area school district confirmed to NBC affiliate KCRA 3 that over the weekend they had three families return, which include five students, but still have 27 students who are still out in Afghanistan with 19 families.

"We are estimating 72 members of our community trying to get back home," said Melissa Bassanelli, the school district's deputy superintendent.

School district spokesman Raj Rai said: "These numbers continue to change rapidly. We believe that some of these families may be in transit out of Afghanistan, as we have not been able to reach many of them in the last few days. We stand ready to support these students and families in whatever way that we can."

The school district could not confirm Thursday whether any of the students had made it home.

The greater Sacramento area is home to one of the largest Afghan immigrant communities in the U.S. However, it is unclear whether the stranded students are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The district serves about 1,400 Afghan students. 

The report of the Sacramento students follows another California school district  saying tens of its students and their families were stuck in Afghanistan after opting to take a summer trip there.