KATHMANDU: One hundred and seventy-four Nepalis who were rescued from Afghanistan arrived home on Friday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With this, the total number of people who were brought back home from Afghanistan has reached  470. They worked for various diplomatic missions in Kabul and also at jobs in the informal sector.

Afghanistan was recently taken over by the Taliban. The returnees boarded a regular Kuwait-Kathmandu flight of Jazeera Air.

The rescued ones, who arrived in Kathmandu, have been managed COVID-19 tests and other health checkups at a holding center in Samakhusi. The holding center is run by the government in coordination with the COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC), said the Ministry.

Till 5:00 pm on Friday, 310 Nepalis who were stranded in Afghanistan registered their names and details in the web portal of the Department of Consular Services, a required process for their rescue and repatriation to the home country, said Hari Chandra Ghimire, Chief of Central Asia, West Asia and Africa Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The rescue operation has taken place on the basis of the registration of the stranded Nepalis in the web portal and their details given by the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi and the situation center. Friendly nations have helped in the rescue of the stranded Nepalis by sending their flights to Kabul