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ELEPHANTS were sent out to rescue hundreds of foreign tourists trapped in a flooded safari park in Nepal, according to Reuters.
Sauraha, about 80km south of Kathmandu, is home to 605 greater one-horned rhinoceroses, or Indian rhinoceroses, and is popular with foreign tourists, including Indian and Chinese visitors, mainly for elephant rides and rhino-watching.
A woman looks out from her house at a flood-affected area in Janakpur, Nepal. Source: Reuters
Suman Ghimire, chief of a group of Sauraha hotel owners, told Reuters: “Some 300 guests were rescued on elephant backs and tractor trailers to (nearby) Bharatpur yesterday and the rest will be taken to safer places today.”
Tens of thousands of locals have been displaced as a result of the floods while heavy monsoon rains wreaked havoc on their homes. According to the Information and Communications Minister, over 60,000 houses were under water in the southern plains of Nepal.
“The situation is worrying as tens of thousands of people have been hit,” Basnet told Reuters.
Flood victims work on the Jute plant in the Saptari District. Source: Reuters
According to Al Jazeera, the district of Terai, also ravaged in the floods, will greatly affect the region’s economy. “Some 80 percent of the crops have been damaged. It’s going to have a huge impact in the long run for the country,” the network’s correspondent said.
Nepal’s monsoon rains – which typically start in June and subside in September – are essential for the agriculture-dependent state, but can also result in major losses, property damage, and casualties.
The post Nepal: Elephants deployed to rescue tourists from flooded safari park appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com