Foreign nationals from Ukraine, Turkey, United States, France and Nepal self-isolated themselves in a cave in northern India after running out of money amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Foreigners moved to the cave as air, rail and road transport have been suspended in the country since March 24. After 25 days of staying in the cave, the tourists were spotted by locals and reported to the police.
It was stated that four men and two women separately arrived in northern Rishikesh last year, which is known as a popular tourist destination in the foothills of the Himalayas. All tourists planned to stay in the hotel until they ran out of money.
According to officials, the tourists were rescued by Indian officials and sent to a private quarantine center. All of them tested negative for coronavirus.
"After receiving the information, we went to the cave and found the six foreigners. They told us that they decided to move into the cave because they were running out of money. We did their medical tests and sent them to a quarantine center," local police official Rakendra Singh Kathait told local journalist Raju Gusain.
Police said that the man from Nepal knew Hindi and helped the others to buy food and move to a cave.
"They had been living in the cave since March 24. The police found them on Sunday and moved them to Swarg Ashram near Rishikesh, we have asked them to self-quarantine for two weeks as a precaution but the group seemed healthy,” a spokesperson for Uttarakhand police, Mukesh Chand, told CNN.
