Six foreign tourists, including a U.S. national, took refuge in a cave in the Indian state of Uttarakhand in an effort to self-isolate amid the coronavirus outbreak. There was another reason behind this unorthodox method, to save money to supplement their stay during the widespread lockdown.

The group, consisting of four men and two women from France, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States, and Nepal was rescued from inside a cave near Rishikesh by Lakshman Jhula police on Saturday. They were initially staying in a hotel but they ran out of money and huddled inside the cave on March 24, right before the lockdown was announced, according to local daily The Times of India.

“Six foreign tourists, including two women, have been rescued from a cave in Garudchatti region. Before the lockdown began, they were living in a hotel in the Muni ki Reti region but they moved to the cave after they ran out of money. However, they had money to buy food and other supplies. The man from Nepal helping them buy essential items,” Rakendra Singh Kathait, Lakshman Jhula station house officer, said.

Kathait said they shifted to the cave with all their belongings, where they had been cooking their food all this while using firewood. He said all the six tourists had come to Rishikesh about two months ago.

Police rescued them and were reportedly moved to a nearby ashram. Police said the group didn’t exhibit symptoms persistent to COVID-19. They were provided all required facilities for sustenance in the ashram, according to police.

At present, there are at least 778 tourists stranded in the Pauri Garhwal district, with majority of them in the Lakshman Jhula area. “Of the total 778, maximum 96 are from Russia followed by 75 from the U.S. and 49 from France. They are all in their accommodations at present due to the lockdown,” Dhiraj Singh Garbyal, district magistrate, told local publication Hindusthan Times, adding that they were being screened by doctors periodically and taken care of with “all the required facilities.”

India enforced the world's largest lockdown on March 25, asking its 1.3 billion people to stay at home to step up the country's fight against the viral pandemic. The nation, as of Tuesday, has reported a total of 18,601 cases, with 592 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Indians dry their clothes after taking a holy dip in the River Ganges at Rishikesh, where about 700 foreign tourists remain as India's virus lockdown continues
Indians dry their clothes after taking a holy dip in the River Ganges at Rishikesh, where about 700 foreign tourists remain as India's virus lockdown continues AFP / Sajjad HUSSAIN
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