The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Saturday has confirmed that all the 1,430 Indian pilgrims who were stranded while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet have been airlifted to safety. The embassy further said that the last batch of were airlifted too.
Using the social media handle Twitter, the Indian mission said, that the rescued pilgrims from Hilsa and Simikot districts have been moved to Nepalgunj and Surkhet – the two Indian towns close to the Indian border- where better health care and infrastructure facilities have been arranged.
ALSO READ: Kailash Mansarovar yatra: Rescue efforts underway
“The evacuation process was completed after 160 stranded pilgrims were evacuated today from Simikot and Hilsa. Embassy’s team continues to be stationed to monitor the situation. As of today, 1,430 stranded pilgrims were airlifted from Simikot/Hilsa to Nepalgunj/Surkhet and have achieved a zero in both these places,” it said.
Due to the heavy rains and bad monsoon in western Nepal transportation was blocked and the pilgrims were stuck for the past five-six days. Soon after the information was received by the MEA, rescue process was initiated, along with setting up of health centres and reach of other essential items. Nepal Army helicopters and Indian commercial flights worked days and nights to evacuate the pilgrims, an official said, reports NDTV.
“All of them have been airlifted from Hilsa and Simikot to Surkhet and Nepalgunj, border towns of Nepal. Two embassy staff were also deployed at the site for facilitating evacuation and establishing communication with the family members of the victims. They were evacuated from Hilsa and brought to Simikot from where they were airlifted to Nepalgunj and Surkhet, border towns,” embassy spokesperson Roshan Lepcha said. He further added that the embassy had coordinated with local tour operators and security people to carry out the rescue works.
ALSO READ: 290 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims from Karnataka get stuck in Nepal
Photo Courtesy: Hindustan Times