Indian Tourists
Six Indian tourists missing in Nepal's Dolpa, bad weather hampers rescue
Rescue efforts are underway to locate and evacuate six Indian tourists stranded in an area covered by heavy snowfall inside Nepal's Shey-Phoksundo National Park since Saturday, media reports said.
According to a statement issued by the District Administration Office in Dolpa, the stranded tourists have been identified as Moumita Halder, Piyali Koley, Jajla Trivedi Kumar, Aditya Singha, Diplina Bishwas and Rajesh De.
The group, which includes two women, lost contact while travelling from Dolpo Buddha Rural Municipality in Dolpa district towards Shey-Phoksundo Lake amid heavy snowfall.
They were last reported to be in the area around Numla Pass and Bagla Pass, located between wards 4 and 8 of Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality, Online Khabar reported.
A local guide told the news portal that the tourists were suspected to have become stranded following heavy snowfall in the Himalayan region, reportedly triggered by the impact of Cyclone Arnab, which formed over the Bay of Bengal.
Locals had reportedly warned the group against crossing the mountain passes due to the snowfall and hazardous weather conditions. However, the tourists allegedly continued their journey despite the warnings.
Dolpa Chief District Officer Junu Hamal told Online Khabar that the tourists were returning from Dho towards Phoksundo Lake when they became stranded in the snow.
Dhawa Samduk Gurung, chairperson of Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality, said the absence of telephone connectivity in the area was making it difficult to ascertain the condition of the stranded tourists.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Anilraj Giri of Dolpa told the news portal that the six Indian tourists had not yet been reached and that the concerned agencies had been asked to arrange a helicopter for search and rescue operations.
He added that heavy rainfall was hampering rescue efforts in the region.
According to local media reports, the Nepali Army has also been deployed to rescue the stranded Indian tourists.
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