Kathmandu, Jan. 25 -- The parliamentary International Relations Committee on Wednesday directed the government to make arrangements for the local administration to issue helicopter rescue permits in restricted areas.

The House panel issued the directive following complaints about an increase in the number of deaths due to delayed medical evacuation flights resulting from complex paperwork. The restricted areas adjoin the northern border with China. In these places, lengthy official procedures need to be completed to fly ill persons to hospital.

Last October, a 17-year-old girl who sustained serious head injuries in a rock fall at Sirdibas in northern Gorkha died as she could not be flown out for medical treatment in time. According to l...