25 rescued from hydropower station in Nepal

Stranded Chinese carry water and food brought in by a Chinese helicopter on Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

LHASA -- Twenty five of more than 200 Chinese stranded in a hydropower station in Nepal since Saturday's earthquake were airlifted to safety on Tuesday afternoon by a Chinese helicopter.

The group are all workers and family members of workers in the station, which China helped build, near the China-Nepal border.

The 25, including a child, have been taken to nearby Jilung County in Tibet, according to the quake relief headquarters in Jilung.

The headquarters said the Chinese company plans to leave only 20 engineers at the station and evacuate all the other staff from Nepal.

The hydropower station is 67 km from the epicenter of the 8.1-magnitude quake, which struck Nepal at 2:11 pm (Beijing Time) on Saturday.

Two of its staff were killed in the quake.

About 2,000 Chinese tourists have arrived home, while 400 remained stranded at a airport in quake-hit Kathmandu as airlines race to evacuate them following Saturday's earthquake, said Chinese Embassy in Nepal on Monday.

Hong Lei, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, said there were about 4,000 Chinese tourists in Nepal before the earthquake.

Four Chinese nationals in Nepal have died, and another ten were seriously injured. Another 25 residents in Tibet autonomous region have also died, while 58 were injured in the quake.

A stranded man meets and briefs Chinese rescuers on Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]