Latvia offered assistance to Nepal in connection with the disaster that occurred a week ago, but no specific requests from Nepal have been received at this time, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs told reporters after a meeting with President Edgars Rinkevics.
He did not specify what kind of assistance was offered.
Kulbergs noted that there is currently a slight glimmer of hope that the missing Latvian travelers in Nepal will be found, however, the search is greatly hindered by the monsoon season.
As the Prime Minister emphasized, the state is doing everything necessary to support the relatives of the missing Latvians. Currently, a representative from the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is in Nepal to help ensure communication with the authorities in Nepal. In the event that the remains of Latvians are found, the MFA representative will assist in organizing their transportation to Latvia.
According to Kulbergs, it is known that a number of foreign tourists were already on the Chinese side during the natural disaster, however, Latvia has not yet received a response from Chinese institutions.
Rinkevics, for his part, noted that the situation in Nepal is very severe. The responsible institutions in Latvia are working to provide maximum moral and informational support to the relatives of the missing Latvians.
This week, the State Police reported that they received information about cases where fraudsters attempted to extort money from the relatives of those missing in Nepal.
The President expressed hope that the fraudsters will be apprehended and the harshest penalties will be applied to them.
The MFA informed the LETA agency that the consular department representative in Nepal has already begun work, and the honorary consul continues to maintain contacts with local authorities.
So far, DNA samples have been submitted by 31 close relatives of the missing Latvians.
The MFA continues to assist and coordinate practical issues that may arise for the relatives of those missing in Nepal.
As reported, on August 26, the collapse of a glacier triggered a powerful mudslide that caused extensive destruction in Nepal and China. A large group of Latvian tourists, whose trip was organized by "Yantra.lv", was near the epicenter of the incident, while a smaller number of Latvian tourists were in the disaster zone as part of a local firm "Mighty Himalayan Trek". It is currently known that three Latvian residents in the disaster area were not harmed, while 33 are considered missing.
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