More than 1,500 tourists stranded in Nepal's Everest region for over a week due to bad weather were rescued Saturday, officials said, DPA reported.
They were stranded due to severe weather which hindered the operation of regular flights to and from Lukla airport, the only airport in the region.
"The tourists have been rescued with the help of Nepal army helicopters and airplanes operated by private airlines," Nepal tourism board official, Sharad Pradhan said.
According to Lukla airport, all the passengers were safely flown to the capital Kathmandu by Saturday afternoon. The rescue efforts had been underway since Friday, according to the Civil Aviation authorities.
The passengers had been stranded for over a week as bad weather grounded flights.
Nepal is particularly prone to air crashes due its difficult mountainous terrain. In August, an aircraft crashed in bad weather, killing all 14 on board, after it failed to land in Lukla airport.