53 Keralites, including children, estimated stranded in Nepal

At least 53 Keralites, including children, are believed to be stranded in flood-hit Nepal, Kerala government agency NORKA Roots said on Thursday.

The agency, which coordinates overseas affairs and welfare services for non-resident Keralites, said it has been unable to establish direct contact with those stranded because of network problems.

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NORKA Roots CEO Rajesh Madhavan said 17 sets of information about stranded Keralites had been received through the Chief Minister's Office and Chief Secretary's Office.

The information was collated by around 3 am on Thursday.

"From that, we identified around 53 Keralites, including family members, adults, and children," Madhavan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

NORKA Roots has contact numbers for all 53 people, but has not been able to reach them directly.

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The agency's Development Officer in Delhi is coordinating the effort and is in touch with the Resident Commissioner's Office. Information is also being passed directly to the Indian Embassy.

The immediate task is to identify the last known locations of the stranded people.

"We re-contacted the family members who had reached out to us to confirm details. We collected the latest updates available, such as whether they had called recently or mentioned travelling to a specific location," Madhavan said.

These details have been shared with the authorities concerned to help locate the stranded Keralites.

"Once that is secured, we hope to establish direct contact and gather complete information," he said.

Madhavan said no new calls about stranded Keralites had been received after the 53 people were identified. "We haven't been able to establish direct contact yet, but we have a general understanding that they are safe."