Six foreign tourists who tried to sit out the coronavirus pandemic in an Indian cave after running out of money have been sent to coronavirus quarantine, according to police.

The four men and two women - from France, the United States, Ukraine, Turkey and Nepal - had been living in the cave near Rishikesh in Uttarakhand state, northern India since March 24, according to police inspector Rajendra Singh Kathait.

There have also been unconfirmed reports of some police officers in the state allegedly making foreign tourists write out lines on paper for breaking the curfew.

Six foreign tourists have been discovered hiding in a cave in India where they have been for a month. It is not clear which of the six these five (pictured) are, but the group consisted of two Ukrainians, one from Nepal, one from US, one from Turkey and one from France

About 700 foreign tourists remain in Rishikesh, according to the state's tourism department. Police in the state are making some tourists write out lines on paper (as seen above in this separate incident)

The area was made famous by the Beatles, who came to Rishikesh in 1968 looking for refuge from Beatlemania and to experience Indian culture.

The foreign tourists have now been moved to Swarg Ashram, where they will be quarantined for 14 days, although none have shown coronavirus symptoms.

'Before the lockdown began, they were living in a hotel in the Muni Ki Reti region but they moved to the cave after they ran out of money,' Kathait said.

'However, they had saved some money to buy food and other supplies.'

The Nepali man had been helping the group buy essential items, Kathait added.

A policeman is pictured wearing a coronavirus helmet to raise awareness of the virus. The world's second-most populous nation of 1.3 billion people has reported more than 15,700 coronavirus cases including 507 deaths from the disease

India has been under a nationwide lockdown since late March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries or medicine.

The lockdown was due to be lifted on April 15, but has been extended to at least May 3.

Some sectors - including agriculture and manufacturing - will be allowed to re-open from Monday to ease the hardships of poorer Indians.

About 700 foreign tourists remain in Rishikesh, according to the state's tourism department, and the government has launched the website 'Stranded in India' to help travellers from abroad.

Numerous governments, including Germany, the US and Britain, have chartered flights to take their nationals home from India.

The world's second-most populous nation of 1.3 billion people has reported more than 15,700 coronavirus cases including 507 deaths from the disease.

The area was made famous by the Beatles, who came to Rishikesh in 1968 looking for refuge from Beatlemania and to experience Indian culture. George Harrison is pictured above with Patti Boyd and Ravi Shankar visiting ruins

Russian cave dwellers are ordered to return home after hiding out on paradise beach in Thailand

By Will Stewart for MailOnline

A Russian man and woman have been ordered to return home after hiding out in a cave at a paradise beach in Thailand during the coronavirus lockdown.

Alexey Pykhov, 35, a daredevil rope jumper, and Anzhelika Popivnich, 27, an events manager, shared a small tent on a beach for five weeks after getting stranded together when all accommodation closed in luxury resort Krabi.

In the last week, they moved the tent to the mouth of a large cave to avoid patrols by national park rangers and giving them protection from heavy tropical rain.

The pair, who are not a couple, said they thought they would be 'safer' in Thailand than returning to Russia.

However, police discovered them and sprayed them with disinfectant before taking them to a local hospital for a virus test. Both were negative.

A Russian man and woman are spoken to by Thai police after they were discovered sleeping among rocks at a popular tourist beach to hide out during the coronavirus lockdown

The cave in Thailand where the pair were discovered on Saturday, sleeping in a tent among rocks on the coast of Krabi

The Russians moved the tent to the mouth of a large cave to avoid patrols by national park rangers and giving them protection from heavy tropical rain

Alexey explained that they had met while travelling separately in Southeast Asia as the crisis hit.

'The virus pandemic caught us while we were in Thailand,' he said. 'There is an official ban and you can't set up a tent on the beach, nor in the jungle.

'We were warned and told to find a tourist bungalow, but they kicked us out after three days.

'Since all accommodation was shut, we had no option but to continue live on the beach.

'During the day we put the tent away and set it up at night.'

He said: 'We were monitoring the pandemic situation in Russia but thought it was better to stay here.'

Anzhelika Popivnich on a beach in Thailand where she and another Russian were hiding out during the coronavirus pandemic

The two Russians were tested for coronavirus after being discovered hiding in a Thai cave. Both tested negative for the disease

A police officer looks on as one of the Russian campers looks at her phone in a hammock at a Thai tourist resort in the south of the country

Anzhelika said: 'Life in a tent wasn't exactly too romantic, it was just a way of saving money.

'When we lived under a rock (in the cave) there was no wind, so it was quite hot. When we lived on the beach, there was a bit of a breeze… Another issue was insects that try to get to you.'

Police ordered them to stay at a hotel for stranded tourists and they are now resigned to ending their paradise self-isolation with an emergency repatriation flight to Siberia this week.

'We'll go back home and be in quarantine like everyone else although Anzhelika wants to keep travelling,' Alexei said.