Nepalese migrant workers in Libya who fled the country in the wake of political unrest were stranded in the Egyptian border town of Sallum after their employer abandoned them, dpa reported Friday according to local media.
Some 560 Nepalese who were working in Libya failed to complete the journey to Cairo after arriving in Sallum, from where the government had said it would rescue them, the Republica daily reported.
Shyam Lal Tabadar, Nepal's ambassador to Egypt, said the workers were stranded Thursday without adequate food and water.
A South Korean construction company, which employed the workers, had said they would take the employees safely to Cairo by truck.
"The company did not keep its promise," Tabadar said. "Our people were carelessly abandoned in Sallum."
The workers' relatives protested in Kathmandu on Thursday, demanding the government take steps to rescue their family members.
In response the government formed a panel which decided to mobilize funds and diplomatic missions to rescue the workers.
Over 1,300 Nepalese working in Tripoli, Benghazi and other Libyan cities have been requesting that the government bring them home after anti-government protests broke out in the North African nation.
"We will be able to rescue them only if their employer companies drop them somewhere along the Tunisian border (with Egypt)," Tabadar said.