Sunderland pair stranded in Nepal lockdown after Everest trip

Ashbrooke photographer David Armour and friend Jack Foggin, an energy company team leader from Hetton, landed in Nepal on March 14 as part of a group of 14 Britons whose return flights were cancelled by the airline Emirates.

David, 55 and Jack, 28, achieved their ambition of walking to Everest’s base camp and now wish to return home.

However, the Nepalese government has imposed a complete lockdown, with the 30 million population ordered to stay at home. This was to end on March 31, but has since been extended to April 8.

David and Jack are stranded in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. They are fit and well and have enough money for now. However, they are in dispute with their insurers, who say that because their enforced stay is due to a pandemic, they are not insured for hotels or alternative flights.

The trip was booked though an agency specialising in Himalayan adventures, Evertrek. The two flew from Manchester with Emirates who were supposed to bring them back on March 29.

David said: “We are in Kathmandu at the moment in a hotel. Nepal is on lockdown and the area we are in is Thamel, the tourist area of Kathmandu. We have registered with the embassy in Kathmandu, so they know where we are.

“The British Ambassador to Nepal, Nicola Pollitt, is trying to give us information. However, nothing concrete as to whether we are going to be repatriated. Germany and France have both had flights out, and Australia and New Zealand are going tomorrow March 31).

“I’m going to speak with the insurance company airline when I return. We will have to pay for the hotel. Also the government will charge us for a flight to return.”

Nicola Pollit Tweeted: “Because of the scale of the operation it will take some time for @foreignoffice to get flights where they need to be.”

She added that flights “will not be free.”