Kathmandu, July 29
At least 753 workers from Nepal died in various countries in the recently concluded fiscal year, according to the government.
The Foreign Employment Board secretariat says it has provided compensation to total 753 families after their members were found to have died in various countries during work. Of the deceased, 730 were men and 23 women.
The number of total Nepalis who died abroad might be more than that as the Board is not obliged to provide support to the families whose members left for overseas work through illegal channels. Likewise, the Board does not have data about deaths of Nepalis with student visa.
The figure is slightly lower than that of the previous year. In the fiscal year 2017/18, total 821 persons had died abroad. Of them, 800 were men.
Like in past years, Malaysia has recorded the highest number of deaths of Nepali workers. Total 229 Nepalis working in Malaysia died in one year. But still, it is a slight decrease from the previous year’s record as the number of Nepalis migrating for Malaysia has also significantly decreased.
Saudi Arabia (194), Qatar (135) and United Arab Emirates (85) follow Malaysia on the list.
Likewise, 29 Nepalis died in Kuwait and 20 in South Korea. Information Officer at the Board, Din Bandhu Subedi informs that most of the death cases in South Korea were reported to be suicide.
Korea hosts workers from various countries under its Employment Permit System. Among them, Nepalis have a relatively higher suicide rate.
Meanwhile, 11 Nepalis died in Bahrain and six in Oman. Three persons died in Japan, a relatively safe destination.
Overall, two Nepali workers died everyday on average.
