For the past 25 days, six foreign nationals have been hiding in caves near the Ganges river in India after they ran out of money and had to check out of hotels when the country entered its coronavirus lockdown.
All six tourists, who were found in a cavern near Rishikesh, a town in the northern state of Uttarakhand, have been quarantined after they were examined but are not showing symptoms of the disease.
The group was made up of four men and two women from France, Turkey, Ukraine, Nepal and the United States. Police in the Laxmanjhula area found them after receiving information that several foreign nationals were living in caves in the Garun Chatti area.
Rakendra Singh Kathait, a police spokesperson, told The Indian Express the group had been living in the cave since 24 March, until police found them on Sunday and moved them to an ashram to be quarantined.
They had been buying food and supplies from nearby markets and cooked their meals using wooden planks for fire inside the caves.
A state government order implemented on 20 March banned domestic and foreign tourists from entering the state of Uttarakhand as part of an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.
A nationwide lockdown was imposed on 24 March, which only allows essential services to continue operating.
There are 17,615 coronavirus cases reported in India, with 559 deaths, according to data from John Hopkins University.
The town of Rishikesh is a destination for Hindu pilgrims and is regarded as a holy place. It is also popular among foreign travellers and is known worldwide as the location of the ashram where The Beatles stayed in 1968 while writing the White Album.
Last week, 10 tourists in Rishikesh were punished for flouting coronavirus lockdown rules after they were found relaxing on the banks of the river Ganges.
The tourists were made to write “I did not follow the lockdown. I am sorry” 500 times. If they were found breaking the rules again, they would be barred from entering India again, said police.
India’s lockdown was initially due to be lifted on 14 April, but prime minister Narendra Modi later extended them until 3 May.
