BRITISH Army Gurkhas have rescued 109 Brits stranded on remote mountain treks in Nepal.
The tourists were stuck in 13 spots, spread out across the Himalayas.
The Kathmandu government imposed tough coronavirus lockdown last month, leaving them unable to move.
Most civilian transport by road and air was closed down.
Teams of Gurkhas based in the country to train recruits were dispatched to help them.
Their mission took the soldiers three gruelling weeks, as they travelled more than 4,000 miles, crossing rivers and traversing landslides.
All the British tourists have now been flown home on charter flights.
On of the Gurka rescuers was Iraq war veteran Sergeant Prakash Gurung, of 29 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.
Sgt Gurung said: “I stepped up to volunteer because I thought it was a part of my job. Helping people in dire situations gives me a sense of satisfaction.
“The gratitude people expressed in messages has encouraged me to do more of this sort of work.”
Heaping praise on the Gurkhas, Britain’s ambassador to Nepal Nicola Pollitt added: “Getting British nationals home in such an unprecedented time is a huge challenge around the world, but in a country like Nepal, with such extreme conditions, it would have been impossible to get everyone back without the close collaboration of the Embassy and British Gurkhas Nepal.”
On top of the 109 Brits, the Gurkha soldiers also rescued a further 28 other foreign nationals who were also stranded.
