Hundreds of Indians are believed to have been stranded in Nepal, which was hit by a powerful earthquake on Saturday. Officials could not confirm the safety of all, but they said they had not received any “adverse information”.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had instructed the State disaster management team to be prepared for rescue operations at any location in Nepal and India, if necessary. A special cell of the Maharashtra Sadan in the capital is helping Indians locate their relatives in Nepal, in coordination with the Ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs.

Sameer Sahai, Additional Resident Commissioner of Maharashtra Sadan, told The Hindu that 125 persons, mostly tourists and a few trekkers, were stranded in Nepal. “So far, we have not received any adverse information,” he said. The number of Indians stranded, he said, was estimated from inputs received through the telephone calls of relatives. These tourists were in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Some of them reached the Kathmandu airport, and officials were in touch with the DGCA to help them return home. Mr. Sahai said 40 nurses from the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Hospital were stranded. A tour operator from the State said a group of 28 persons were stranded but safe at the Kathmandu airport. “We are trying our best to ensure their safe return,” said Shreyas of Kesari Travels. If Maharashtrians want to locate their loved ones stranded in Nepal, they can call Mr. Sahai on ph: 011-23380325.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev had a narrow escape in Kathmandu as a dais from which he had addressed a gathering collapsed soon after he stepped down.

Bharti Airtel has decided to offer all calls to Nepal on its network free of cost for 48 hours from Saturday midnight.

106 from A.P. Andhra Pradesh Bureau writes:

Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Commissioner Dhanunjaya Reddy said that 106 persons from the State were stranded in Nepal. While contact could be established with the 44-member group that had left from Vijayawada, the relatives of remaining 62 persons said they were unable to reach them mainly because telecommunications broke down. The relatives of a Telugu film unit in Kathmandu spent eight agonising hours here after the earthquake in Nepal’s capital on Saturday till word came that all 20 members of the crew were safe.

25 from Tiruchi Special Correspondent writes from Tiruchi:

Relatives of a group of 25 persons from Tiruchi who had undertaken a pilgrimage to Muktinath in Nepal are anxiously awaiting information from them. The group started the journey on April 20.