Over 800 Nepali nationals died in 2010 while working in the Middle East and Malayasia, according to data compiled by Nepali embassies. Accidents in the workplace and suicide appear to have been the most common causes of death. In Saudi Arabia alone, 323 Nepalis lost their lives, while 192 and 84 died in Qatar and the UAE respectively. Suicide accounted for 160 deaths, according to this - Opens in new tab article in the Himalayan Times.
Manpower companies have been complacent about the high death rate among Nepali workers. 'Deaths of a few hundred people are natural', the President of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).
According to some, stress is a leading cause of death.
'Two-third of the deaths are caused by stress because they are cheated by employment agencies,' Nepalese Ambassador Suryanath Mishra told Monsters and Critics - Opens in new tab.