Nepal’s flood death toll has reached 750 as landslides, rising water levels and continued rain hamper rescue operations. Thousands of rescuers remain deployed as hundreds of people remain missing in Nepal and Tibet.
Landslides, rising water levels and continued rain are complicating rescue efforts in Nepal and Tibet on the fifth day of the disaster.
The death toll from flooding in Nepal has risen to 750 as landslides, rising water levels and adverse weather continue to hamper rescue operations on the fifth day of the disaster.
Nearly 20,000 personnel have been deployed in Nepal, where 8,186 people have been rescued. Authorities are still searching for 2,498 people whose whereabouts remain unknown, including 589 foreign nationals.
Rescue efforts have also been disrupted by a new landslide downstream from a natural dam created by the flooding that struck the border area between northern Nepal and China earlier this week.
Text Reads: 📌 Flooding in the Bhote Koshi River basin has left 676 dead in Nepal and Tibet and nearly 3,000 missing, authorities reported.
🔴 Nepalese police have recovered 669 bodies, mostly in Chitwan and Nawalparasi East. China confirmed seven deaths in Gyirong. Nepal has requested international forensic assistance due to the collapse of local morgues.
New landslide forces teams to relocate
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said the new landslide forced rescue teams operating near the Gyirong border crossing in Tibet to relocate after water began accumulating behind debris that had partially blocked the river channel.
The landslide occurred downstream from the natural dam formed after the initial flooding. According to state broadcaster CCTV, the debris created another barrier and water has begun building up behind it.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) also warned Sunday of rising water levels in the Bhote Koshi basin.
“Search, rescue and relief teams in the affected areas, including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and others, as well as people in the affected areas, are urged to exercise extreme caution,” the agency said.
Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology issued a yellow rain alert, the lowest level, for the areas affected by the flooding. Rain is expected to continue at least through Monday, potentially making rescue operations more difficult.
Deaths and missing people in Tibet
Chinese authorities raised the reported death toll on the Tibetan side to 16 early Sunday, while 546 people remain missing there.
Nepalese nationals make up the largest group of people reported missing in Tibet, with 104 cases, followed by 49 Indian nationals and 33 from Latvia.
The latest figures released by CCTV also listed a Spanish national among those missing in China for the first time.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that two Spanish nationals remained missing following the disaster, without specifying which country they were in when the flooding occurred.
The Spanish Embassy in New Delhi, the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Nepal and the Consulate General of Spain in Beijing are monitoring the situation and working with local authorities to provide consular assistance, according to the ministry.
Nepal’s Tourism Board had previously reported that two of three Spanish nationals initially listed as missing had been located. The two were in contact with authorities but had not yet been rescued.
Author: MK
Source: EFE / Agencies
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