Kathmandu, March 31 : A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and Nepali tourist guides, who were stranded at several destinations due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to counter the coronavirus since March 24, have been rescued.
As per the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) sources, such a number of tourists were rescued from different 19 touristic destinations including Pokhara, Lukla, Taplejung, Jomsom, Annapurna Base Camp, Muktinath, Langtang, Manaslu, Gorkha, Lete, Besisahar, Kande, Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Beni and Jhinudanda.
They were rescued via chartered flights. Most rescues were from Lukla in Solukhumbu district. According to 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 in the Monday morning (March 30).
Different airlines 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
