Nearly 125 Indians stranded in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Nearly 125 people from Maharashtra and Telangana are stranded in Nepal after a high-magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan nation.

According to officials at the Maharashtra Information Centre in Delhi, around 80 people from Nashik had gone to Nepal for pilgrimage while 15-20 people were on a trekking expedition.

"We have been receiving calls from people from the state, but we are not able to reach them. Around 80 people from Nashik had gone for pilgrimage while the remaining had gone for trekking," said an official at the MIC.

Meanwhile, 25 tourists from Hyderabad, who are in Kathmandu are safe.

Tour organiser Gowrishankar, who took the tourists, said members of their group were safe and moved to an open ground, close to Pashupatinath temple.

"I was in the bathroom on the fourth floor of my hotel when I experienced tremors. Immediately, I took a bed spread and ran down to the floor.

"Now, all of us are safe in an open ground, close to the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu," he told PTI.

Gowrishankar further said they were "fortunate" that there was no damage to their hotel.

The group comprising people from Hyderbad left on April 17 from Hyderabad and were scheduled to return to Hyderbad after visiting Varanasi.