Kerala govt to meet entire expenses for airlifting remains of

The Kerala government will meet the entire expenses for airlifting the bodies of eight tourists from the state who died at a resort in Nepal, official sources said here on Wednesday.

The victims, including four children, died due to possible asphyxiation after they fell unconscious probably due to a gas leak from a heater in their room at a mountainous resort in Makwanpur district of Nepal.

"The government will bear the entire expenses to bring the bodies to the state from Nepal", a source in the Chief Minister's Office told PTI.

The Norka (Non Resident Keralites Affairs) department has been in touch with the family members and friends of the deceased since the incident took place and they came to know about some issues relating to the transportation of the bodies.

The matter was brought to the Chief Minister's notice following which the decision to bear the expenses was taken, official sources said.

The deceased - two couples and four children - were part of a group of 15 people travelling from Kerala to Pokhara, a popular mountainous tourist destination. They were on their way back home and stayed at Everest Panorama Resort in Daman in the district on Monday night.

The bodies were expected to be brought here on Thursday after post-mortem.