At least two Portuguese nationals are stranded in Kathmandu, Nepal, after the Hilton hotel they were staying at was vandalized and set on fire during intense anti-government protests.
The protests, which began on September 7, have escalated in violence over the past two days. At least 25 people, including several police officers, have died, and over 600 have been injured.
Paulo Machado, a lawyer on vacation in Nepal, shared his experiences on social media.
Using his Instagram account, Travel Adicted, Machado reported that “everything is under military control.”
“There is no food, no services, and we cannot go outside. We have no help from the embassy,” he stated, mentioning he escaped with only his phone and passport, thanks to hotel staff, as the hotel was engulfed in flames.
As Machado noted, the Nepal Army has taken over the country’s security and has imposed a nationwide curfew until Thursday, following the violent protests that led to the government’s resignation.
Machado’s Instagram stories show several buildings smoking, people fleeing, and the military patrolling the streets of Kathmandu.
In recent days, tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Nepal’s capital to express their outrage over the government’s decision to block most social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and YouTube, citing the companies’ failure to register and submit to government oversight.
The ‘Generation Z’ protest, named after individuals born between 1995 and 2010 who predominantly oppose the government’s decision, also calls for an “end to corruption.”
According to international media, Nepalese police have violently clamped down on the protests, resulting in the death of at least 19 civilians.
