Government reaching out to Indians stranded in Nepal

The government on Saturday said it was reaching out to Indians stranded in Nepal, where 700 people died due to a massive earthquake.

"There are a lot of Indians in Kathmandu and outside, who are in a difficult situation," Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar told the media.

"In Kathmandu, there is no electricity, so we know that there are limitations. The embassy will try to be of help both to Indians as well as the Nepalese people there."

Responding to a query on whether he knew how many Indians could be stranded in Nepal, he said: "No, not yet. When Indians travel abroad, they don't keep the Indian embassy informed, specially Nepal where people go frequently."

The foreign secretary said since commercial flights would not be operating, "so we will have to find ways to get people back".

Five helicopters will be in Pokhara for rescue efforts.

"As you are all aware there is massive devastation in Nepal. We are responding to that situation. Our embassy got in touch with the government of Nepal and we were also in touch with the embassy of Nepal in Delhi," he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to both the president and prime minister of Nepal.

"PM has indicated that India will do everything in its capability to be of help to Nepal in this difficult moment.

"We have already started out rescue efforts. The first aircraft will be landing shortly. It is also carrying 40 members of the National Disaster Response Force with their equipment. Later in the day, we will have two more aircraft. They will be taking of from Hindon."

Jaishankar said that while one aircraft will be a mobile hospital, the other will have three more NDRF teams. A third aircraft will be taking off from Bathinda.

"By the end of the day, we expect a total of four aircraft to be landing in Kathmandu," he said.

The first aircraft will on Sunday do a reconnaissance of the area to assess the damage.

"There is heavy damage in Kathmandu but we are not able to asses it. Tomorrow (Sunday) there will be many more aircraft movements carrying water and medical supplies. It will also be carrying tents and blankets," he said.