Over 300 Indian pilgrims stranded in Nepal rescued

Kathmandu [Nepal], July 04 (ANI): Over 300 pilgrims were rescued on Wednesday from Nepalganj-Simikot-Hilsa route of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which passes through Nepal.

The Indian Embassy in Nepal is closely monitoring the situation in the region and is taking various steps to evacuate Indians and Indian-origin people from the area.

The embassy operated five flights and three sorties of Nepal Army chopper and evacuated 119 people from Simikot to Surkhet.

They were later sent from Surkhet to Nepalganj through buses.

Apart from this, the Indian embassy in Nepal has also operated 35 sorties of choppers between Hilsa and Simikot and evacuated close to 200 people from the region.

The Embassy is further looking into the possibility of hiring chartered choppers and operating them on various evacuation routes subject to weather condition.

Earlier in the day, mortal remains of the two Indian pilgrims, one from Andhra Pradesh and another from Kerala, were brought to Kathmandu and Nepalganj by a special helicopter.

The Indian Embassy in Nepal issued a list of hotline numbers for the pilgrims stranded in Nepal and their family members. A number of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims are stranded in parts of Nepal following heavy downpour.

The helpline numbers are as follows: 9851107006, 9851155007, 9851107021, 9818832398.

Hotline to contact language speaking staff: Kannada- 9823672371, Telugu- 9808082292, Tamil- 9808500642, Malayalam- 9808500644.

Thousands of Indian pilgrims take part in the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra every year via Nepal in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China ahead of the monsoon season.

The tour is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) each year between June and September in cooperation with the government of People's Republic of China through two different routes - Lipulekh Pass (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La Pass (Sikkim). (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI