Soldiers load a helicopter with emergency supplies at a landing zone in Nepal. (Photo: AP) Soldiers load a helicopter with emergency supplies at a landing zone in Nepal. (Photo: AP)

India has sent army's Gorkha soldiers to quake-hit Nepal to help in relief and rescue work, an official tweet said on Wednesday.

"India enlarges rescue operations in Nepal; sends Gorkha soldiers of Indian Army to Himalayan nation," PIB retweeted an All India Radio tweet.



Tapping its 38,000-strong force of Gorkha soldiers, the Indian Army has sent "quite a few of them" to various parts of Nepal to ascertain the requirements in remote places.

Army sends back Nepali Gorkha soldiers to check on home & help: Maj Gen Ranbir Singh, Addl Dir Gen Mil Ops pic.twitter.com/7MQHfehfwi GAURAV C SAWANT (@gauravcsawant) April 28, 2015

Army officers said the soldiers, some of whom have reached their destinations, are providing valuable inputs about the extent of damage and the specific relief needed.

"We have got a large number of Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army who belong to Nepal. Quite a few of them have been sent to Nepal, to their areas, to physically go and ascertain what are the requirements," Additional Director General of Military Operations Maj Gen Ranbir Singh said here.

Meanwhile, IAF helicopters evacuated 19 mountaineers from Nepal's Lukla, even as 251 were rescued by land.



Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale on April 25. The quake sent tremors across India as well.