Some 26,000 foreigners currently in Nepal: Immigration Department

KATHMANDU: Nepal has enforced a weeklong lockdown from Tuesday in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the lockdown, many tourists have been stranded in many parts of the country, while some have been rescued and taken to their home countries.

According to the Department of Immigration, some 26,000 foreign nationals are currently in Nepal.

Director of the Department of Immigration and Spokesperson Ram Chandra Tiwari, said it is, however, unclear how many of them are in Nepal on a tourist visa.

Chairman of Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN) Khum Bahadur Subedi said that there is no clear data of foreigners currently visiting Nepal.

According to him, the embassies in Kathmandu are collecting information on the number their citizens and places where they have gone to visit.

Subedi informed that 80 tourists in the Lukla area, 20 in Manalsu, 150 in Kaski and around five in Bhadrapur have been waiting to be rescued.

Meanwhile, Nepal Tourism Board said that they are working with Home Ministry for the rescue of stranded tourists.