Stranded Lebanese urge the foreign ministry to help evacuate them from Nepal

Several stranded Lebanese nationals in Nepal have pleaded with Lebanese authorities to help evacuate them following Saturday’s devastating earthquake, reported NEW TV on Sunday.

They urged the Foreign Ministry to carry out the necessary efforts to ensure their safe return to Lebanon.

They assured the television station that they are safe but are currently staying at a garage at Nepal airport.

The Foreign Ministry did acknowledge that three Lebanese nationals are stranded at Kathmandu airport awaiting their evacuation after their flight was delayed due to an emergency, Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) reported .

No Lebanese were killed or wounded in the earthquake, it added.

Nepal’s international airport was briefly shut down on Sunday when a powerful aftershock hit Kathmandu, forcing planes to turn around mid-flight, officials and reports said.

Tribhuvan International Airport general manager Birendra Prasad Shrestha said the runway had reopened after being closed for about an hour.

“The airport is open and functioning. We had closed the runway for an hour after the quake this afternoon, but we have resumed services,” Shrestha told AFP.

Rescue crews were racing to pull survivors from the rubble after a powerful earthquake struck Nepal, even as officials said the death toll had soared over 2,200.

The earthquake hit about 50 miles northwest of the capital of Kathmandu just before noon local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The magnitude-7.9 quake toppled temples and triggered an avalanche on Mt. Everest.