India condoles death of 8 tourists in Nepal resort, bodies to be handed over to families soon after postmortem

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed 'distress' over the passing away of eight Indian tourists a resort in central Nepal and said that the Indian Mission is stationed at the hospital to provide all necessary assistance.

"Deeply distressed by tragic news of passing away of 8 Indian tourists in Nepal. Our Embassy in Nepal has been closely following the situation. Embassy officials are stationed at the hospital and providing necessary assistance. Our thoughts are with bereaved families," the EAM said on Twitter.

The eight Indian tourists, including four adults and four children, were found unconscious at the resort while they undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kathmandu on Tuesday, according to the police.

The deceased, who hailed from Kerala, were part of a group of 15 people who had come on a trip to Nepal and had made a stop-over at Daman after visiting Pokhara, Makwanpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Sushil Singh Rathore told ANI.

Rathore noted that all the four had stayed in the same room at night and turned on a gas heater to keep warm causing their death due to probable asphyxiation. "The group had checked in at the hotel at 9 pm on Monday. An investigation is underway," he said.

All the eight deceased have been identified as Praveen Krishnan Nair, Saranya Sasi, Sreebhadra Praveen, Aarcha Praveen, Abhinav Saranya Nair, Ranjith Kumar Adatholath Punathil, Indu Lakshmi Peethambaran Ragalatha and Vyshnav Ranjith.

Their bodies were taken for postmortem to at Teaching Hospital today afternoon. Soon after the postmortem, the bodies will be handed over to the family of the deceased ones, officials at the hospital said.

"A total of 8 Indian nationals were brought to the hospital already were lifeless. We checked as per our scientific way to confirm about it and have pronounced them as per it," Emergency in-charge of the HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu said.

Reiterating similar sentiments over the incident, the Indian Embassy in Nepal said, "We condole the tragic death of 8 Indian Nationals from the State of Kerala in Daman, Makwanpur District of Nepal."

"We are in touch with their family/friends in India. The mission is extending all necessary assistance," it added.