Over 1,000 tourists, guides rescued during lockdown

KATHMANDU, March 30: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and Nepali tourist guides who were stranded at various destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) sources, they were rescued from different 19 tourists destinations including Pokhara, Lukla, Taplejung, Jomsom, Annapurna Base Camp, Muktinath, Langtang, Manaslu, Gorkha, Lete, Besisahar, Kande, Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Beni and Jhinudanda via chartered flights. Most rescues were from Lukla in Solukhumbu district.

According to the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), eighty-five tourist guides were airlifted to Kathmandu from the Lukla region on Sunday and Monday.  The rescue flights were made in cooperation with the NTB.

As said by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Lukla witnessed five rescue flights alone this morning. Different airline companies, including Nepal Airlines Corporation (one), Sita Air (two) and Summit Air (two) had operated flights to bring 70 foreign tourists and their guides back to Kathmandu today.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has been granted permission to make rescue flights to Dhangadhi, Surkhet and Biratnagar, said CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri.RSS