Twenty-one Tamil Nadu residents who were stranded in flood-hit Nepal and subsequently rescued arrived in Chennai late Friday night.
The 21 people were among a group of 57 pilgrims from Kumbakonam who had travelled to Nepal as part of a Kailash pilgrimage. They were rescued safely following the sudden flooding in the neighbouring country.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had directed ministers to coordinate rescue efforts in Nepal, arrange for the safe return of those rescued and intensify efforts to trace and rescue those who remained uncontactable.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Ministers Aadhav Arjuna, Rajmohan, K. Thennarasu and R. Vinoth met Union Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Delhi and discussed the ongoing rescue and repatriation efforts being coordinated through the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Nepal.
The 21 Tamil Nadu residents travelled from Kathmandu on an IndiGo flight at 2.15 p.m. and reached Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 3.45 p.m. on Friday. They were received by Tamil Nadu Ministers.
They later departed Delhi at around 8 p.m. and arrived in Chennai at around 11.15 p.m. The passengers were received at the airport by Tamil Nadu Ministers N. Anand and Sarathkumar.
The rescued persons are from Tiruchirappalli, Mayiladuthurai, Krishnagiri, Hosur and Chennai. Their relatives welcomed them at the airport with sweets.
