Hundreds of trekkers are stranded in Nepal due to a nationwide lockdown imposed across the country as an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
About 500 foreign trekkers are stranded on high-altitude trekking trails across Nepal. The foreigners are on at least four trekking routes, according to Shradha Shrestha, a spokeswoman for the Nepal Tourism Board.
She explained that they could not return due to the one-week lockdown in the country, which started Tuesday.
"We are working with multiple government agencies to rescue the trekkers and bring them to Kathmandu, so that we can coordinate with the embassies to fly them back home," said Shrestha in an interview with CNN.
"Several embassies such as the German and French are already planning to send chartered flights to some of these areas to rescue the trekkers," Shrestha added.
The tourism board created a website to make it easier for the trekkers stuck on the mountains to communicate with authorities, said Shrestha.
The British embassy in Kathmandu called on its citizens in Nepal who want to return to the UK to send in their details.
"We're working closely with carriers and authorities to try to find a solution, and will contact you ASAP," tweeted the embassy.
The government of Nepal announced earlier this month the cancellation of the spring climbing season for all the Himalayan peaks in the country, including Mount Everest, due to coronavirus.
Nepal's Tourism Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari said that there will be no climbing permits for Mount Everest until the end of April.
The decision was made when upon monitoring the climbing season, which has already been a concern due to the overcrowding on the Earth's highest peak. The amount of each permit to climb Everest is around $11,000.
So far, Nepal has recorded three confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the Nepal Health Ministry data.
