Guntur Telugu tourist group caught in Quake hit Nepal, no news of whereabouts

HYDERABAD , April 25: One team of 25 Andhra tourists to Khantmandu are reportedly safe while the whereabouts of another team of 30 tourists from Guntur district is still not confirmed after the worst earth quake of 7.9 I. Richter scale hit Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal this morning.

Meanwhile relatives of 25 member tourist group from Telangana who are in Kathmandu heaved a sigh a relief after one of them called home to inform of their safety. “We ran out of the fourth floor of the hotel we were staying in near Pasupathinath temple after we felt the tremors. People were screaming and running around everywhere and appealing to every one to come out of buildings. We have taken shelter near the temple and all the 25 members are safe,” Gowri Shankar one of the tourist told a Telugu TV channel over the mobile.

Where abouts of another 30-member group from Guntur district which left for Kathmandu on 21 April is uncertain and have lost communication with their loved ones in the village . "My cousin Rajyalakshmi called me in the morning at 7 am from their hotel room in Kathmandu to say that they were going to visit Muktinath and Pasupathinath temples. Now we are unable to contact them, their numbers are not working," a worried family member told TV channels.

There was no loss of life and property in eastern districts of Andhra Pradesh which reported mild tremors. But the scare of people living in high rises drove them out to plains in panic as reports of earthquake were flashed on the TV screens.

Impact of the earthquake was felt in Visakhapatnam city, Rajanagaram, Yanam, Ravulapalem town, Mamidikuduru, Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, and Kakinada of East Godavari district, Vijayawada in Krishna district and Urlam in Srikakluam district. around 11.30 am to 11.45 am. Despite assurance from authorities that the worst is over the residents preferred to outdoors and in groups in the fear of aftershocks.