7 more Indians die; 170 from 15 countries saved

NEW DELHI: As the official death toll in Nepal crossed 5,000, the government on Tuesday said seven more Indians had died in the earthquake in the Himalayan country, adding to the six reported earlier. Apart from its massive ongoing Operation Maitri for rescue and relief, India has also begun a "big" evacuation effort through the road route.

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Foreign secretary S Jaishankar, briefing journalists on Tuesday, said, 170 nationals from 15 countries have been evacuated by air so far. 251 others were evacuated by the land route. "Our ambassador called on the Nepal PM and army chief today; both of them appreciated Indian assistance. A few more rescue and relief flights are plying today. Our engineering teams too are helping in the relief operations to keep the roads operational," Jaishankar said.

With roads having opened for traffic, Jaishankar said more people were being evacuated by road than air, which is affected by bad weather. "100 more buses are expected to leave from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Approximately 4,000 Indians are being brought in 80 buses from Nepal. The bus route is probably the best way to return to India now, as it is the least affected by weather," he said.

As reported by TOI earlier, India is also using its serving and retired Gorkha soldiers as "eyes and ears" in Nepal to direct assistance in the quake-hit country. While the Indian Army has 28,000 serving Nepalese Gorkhas at present, it also has a vast community of around 1.25 lakh retired soldiers in Nepal.

Home secretary L C Goyal said three Union ministers would be visiting quake-ravaged Bihar. "Three NDRF teams have reached Nepal on Tuesday and three more teams will be reaching, making it 16 teams. According to inputs from the DG, SSB, 251 foreign nationals have entered India through land route," Goyal said.

Defence secretary R K Mathur said 342 Indians have been evacuated by the IAF, bringing the cumulative number to 2,865. "Three field hospitals with 45 beds are operational and surgeries have already started. 19 mountaineers have been evacuated from Lukala. We have sent cumulative relief material of 24 tonnes to the affected areas in the interiors of Nepal," Mathur said. The Indian Navy is also sending a medical team, with six doctors and 10 medical assistants, to the Himalayan country.

"We now have a better appreciation of the area after our helicopters have undertaken numerous sorties. An AN-32 aircraft of IAF also landed at Pokhara today (the first Indian fixed-wing aircraft to land there)," he added.

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