Trishuli: Nepal flood rescue operations have intensified after a catastrophic surge of mud, rock and water killed 162 people and left hundreds missing near the border with China’s Tibet.
Rescuers have used helicopters to search towns and valleys cut off by the disaster. Nepal tourism officials said 579 tourists were missing. More than 400 were foreign nationals. Police have warned that the death toll could rise.
On the Chinese side of the border, around 558 people were missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county. The figure included 260 foreign nationals. It was not immediately clear whether the missing-person figures reported by Nepal and China overlapped.
In the hardest-hit districts, the Nepal Army has deployed helicopters to deliver tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by India. The families gathered at an army training centre used as a helicopter rescue base to seek information about missing relatives.
Early assessments by Nepali authorities suggested that an earthquake may have caused the lower section of a glacier to collapse. However, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) stated that seismic energy initially measured as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake was generated by the collapse of glacial rock and ice.
International assistance begun to reach the affected region. The United States sent a disaster response adviser and provided $500,000 in assistance. United Nations teams and partners also deployed supplies and personnel to support affected communities.
Australia said 34 nationals were among those missing. South Korea reported 8 missing nationals working at a hydropower plant. Malaysia and Japan also reported missing citizens. Many victims had been travelling to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet. The high-altitude pilgrimage site is revered by Hindus and Buddhists.
Damage to hydropower plants cuts electricity in some areas. Police recorded names of missing people using mobile phone flashlights. Drone inspections also shown that all roads leading to the border crossing were completely destroyed.
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