Over 1,000 tourists en route to Lukla remain in Manthali for two days

RAMECHHAP, Oct 17: Over 1,000 foreign tourists en route to Lukla of Solukhumbu are stuck in Manthali for the past two days as an adverse weather disrupted the air flights to Lukla Airport.

It is said their number totals 1,300.  They arrived here by flight and road. 

Now some of them have started heading towards Phaplu, the district headquarters of Solukhumbu while some have taken booked helicopter flights to set out for Surke.  

According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) office at Manthali, those tourists who have tickets for Summit, Tara and Sita airlines flights have remained stranded in Manthali.  

CAAN spokesperson for Manthali Airport, Prajwal Guragain said Manthali Airport sees operations of 55-60 flights a day in a touristic season. People arrive here in autumn for trekking towards the Sagarmatha base camp.