KATHMANDU, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Nepal has rescued over 300 Indian pilgrims who were stranded in Simikot and Hilsa areas near the Nepal-China border due to torrential rain and bad weather for the past few days, a government minister said on Wednesday.
Rabindra Adhikari, the tourism and civil aviation minister of Nepal, said that the Indian pilgrims were rescued, and airlifted to Surkhet district by private and army helicopters.
Nepal has intensified the rescue operation of Indian pilgrims a day after India requested the Nepalese government for army helicopters to evacuate the stranded Indian nationals.
Officials at Nepal's Ministry of Tourism said that rescue efforts were underway to rescue the rest of the Indian pilgrims.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said that over 1,000 Indian pilgrims have been stranded in Simikot and Hilsa areas due to incessant rain and bad weather. The pilgrims were on their way to a sacred place in China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Every year thousands of Indian nationals travel to the religious sites of Mount Kangrinboqe (Mount Kailash) and Lake Mapam Yumco (Lake Manasarovar) in Ngari prefecture in southwest China's Tibetan Autonomous Region via Nepal.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is of religious and cultural significance for Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.