NEW DELHI: MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that 21 Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu who had arrived in Kathmandu from the flood-affected area on Thursday were brought back to Delhi on Friday.External affairs minister S Jaishankar received the group of 21 pilgrims, who had been rescued from the floods in Nepal.“First good news, 21 Indian nationals who had arrived yesterday in Kathmandu from the area that was affected by this flood have today landed in Delhi. These 21 Indian nationals are from Tamil Nadu. Yesterday, our ambassador met them in Kathmandu and inquired about their well-being,” Jaiswal said.He added that 63 Indian nationals working at the Trishuli One hydropower project were also rescued on Thursday.“In addition to these 21 Indian nationals, yesterday we gave you an update about 63 Indian nationals who are working at the Trishuli One hydropower project. They were also rescued yesterday,” he added.He said the government was currently unable to establish contact with 320 Indian nationals, who are being treated as missing or uncontactable.“As far as the number of people whom we are not able to contact or who are missing, the figure at this point in time is 320. There are also around 100 persons of Indian origin who remain uncontactable. These are people of Indian origin who may have gone for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, but they hold other nationalities,” Jaiswal said.Jaiswal said around 400 Indian nationals stranded on the Chinese side of the Nepal-China border are safe, with the Indian Embassy in Beijing and local authorities working to facilitate their evacuation.“On the Chinese side, we have 400 Indian nationals. They are safe. They have been in touch with their family,” Jaiswal said. He added that the embassy had been in contact with several of them, while their relatives had also reached out through helpline numbers operated by the mission in Beijing.“Our embassy is in touch with local authorities in China, and they are working out as to how these people who are there can be evacuated,” he said.Jaiswal also said India began sending humanitarian assistance to Nepal on August 26, with the first aircraft carrying 10 tonnes of relief material, including temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps and medicines.A second aircraft departed on August 27 carrying 37.5 tonnes of relief supplies, including tents, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, dewatering pumps, kitchen sets, generators, medicines and food items.
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“We are considering the third flight, expected to leave this evening,” Jaiswal said. The aircraft is expected to carry around 12-13 tonnes of supplies, including portable generators, dignity kits, food, water-purification tablets and medicines requested by the Nepali authorities.A glacier collapse in Tibet triggered severe flash floods and mudslides along the China-Nepal border, killing at least 475 people and leaving several others missing, according to authorities in the two countries. The casualty figures differ between agencies due to variations in data collection, verification and coordination.
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