Seven from Assam dead in Nepal quake

Seven people from Assam were killed in the devastating earthquake in Nepal and their bodies were being brought from the Himalayan nation back to the state, officials here said on Monday.

"We have received information from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) that some bodies have been recovered and seven of them are of those from Assam," commissioner secretary of the state home department L.S. Changson told media.

"The Indian Air Force will airlift the bodies and they are likely to arrive in New Delhi by tonight (Monday)," she said.

If possible, the Assam government will bring them to Guwahati from New Delhi, she added.

The official said 40 of the people from Assam who were stranded in Nepal have been brought back to New Delhi till Monday, and the state government was making efforts to bring them back to Guwahati soon.

Six other stranded people on Monday morning reached their native place in Morigaon district on their own from Kathmandu, said Changson.

The state government has already deputed Additional Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Kumar to Kathmandu to liaise with the people of Assam who got stranded in various places in Nepal and make arrangements for bringing them back.

The official said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was monitoring the situation.

"We have also come to know that 10 people are admitted in different hospitals in and around Kathmandu," she added.

"We are also exploring the option if we can bring the people by road from Nepal. We have already sent a deputy superintendent of police (DSP)-level officer by road. If the road is alright, we will send ambulances and other vehicles to bring our people from there," the home official said.

The government through its helplines opened after the disaster has received inquiries from the relatives of 120 people since April 25.

"We believe that a total of 120 people from Assam were in Nepal when the earthquake hit the country on April 25," she said.