Pinarayi Vijayan urges MEA for aid to families of 8 Keralites who died in Nepal

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene for rendering all possible assistance to the families and friends of the eight Indian tourists, who were declared dead after being found unconscious in their room at a resort in central Nepal on Tuesday.

In a letter to Minister of External Affairs, Jaishankar said: "We have heard the shocking news of the death of eight persons from Kerala who were on a visit to Nepal. I request your Ministry to kindly intervene for rendering all possible assistance to the families and friends of the victims."

The Chief Minister has condoled the passing away of eight Malayali tourists in Nepal. On the basis of the directions given by the Vijayan, NORKA (Non-Resident Keralite Affairs) officials have taken steps to expedite procedures for the repatriation of the mortal remains, the Kerala Chief Minister's Office said.

According to Nepal Police, eight died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kathmandu on Tuesday.The deceased -- four adults and four children -- were part of a group of 15 people who were visiting Daman, a tourist destination near Kathmandu, Makwanpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Sushil Singh Rathore told ANI.

All eight people, who hailed from Kerala, had stayed in the same room at night and turned on a gas heater to keep warm, suggesting that the cause of the death might be suffocation, Rathore added.

"The group had checked in at the hotel at 9 pm on Monday. An investigation is underway," Rathore said.

The postmortem will be carried out today.