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Updated: Apr 19, 2020 19:14 IST

Amid the lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, the Uttarakhand police have found six foreigners including three women living in a cave near the Ganga in Lakshman Jhula area in the pilgrim town of Rishikesh after running out of money, officials said on Sunday.

The group of foreigners was found Saturday evening after a tip off from locals, police said.

“The group includes three women and three men. Two of them hail from Ukraine and one each from Turkey, USA, France and Nepal,” said Rakendra Singh Kataith, station house officer of Lakshman Jhula police station who led the police team.

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Kataith said they found the foreigners staying in the cave with all their belongings.

“They were cooking their food using firewood. They brought the water from the Ganga flowing nearby. They were all brought to the police station where they said that they had shifted to the cave on March 24 after they ran out of money to pay hotel charges in Muni Ki Reti area of Rishikesh where they were staying,” said Kataith.

The police officer said all the six had come to Rishikesh about two months ago and had shifted to the cave just before the first phase of the lockdown began.

“They have been now shifted to a quarantine centre with all required facilities. None of them have shown any symptoms of Covid-19 in the medical examination,” said Kataith.

According to the Pauri Garhwal district administration, there at present 778 foreigners in the district with most of them in the Lakshman Jhula area only.

Dhiraj Singh Garbyal, district magistrate of Pauri Garhwal said, “Of the total 778, maximum 96 are from Russia followed by 75 from USA and 49 from France. They are all in their accommodations at present due to the lockdown.”

Garbyal said, “Almost all the foreigners had come to the district much before the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown. As a precautionary measure they are being screened by doctors from time to time and are taken care of with all the required facilities.”

Uttarkhand has reported 42 cases of coronavirus so far out of which nine have recovered.