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More than 800 missing, including 65 Americans, as Nepal flood deaths mount
Confirmed
Officials in Nepal had earlier said hundreds of foreigners were reported missing, including Indian nationals on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. The tally of missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county was 558, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday, including 260 foreign nationals.
Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said the focus remained on finding survivors as rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region around Trishuli. In a subsequent update, the tourism board said 27 foreign nationals had been rescued from the flood zone in the Rasuwa district, including two U.S. nationals identified as a man and woman in their 50s.
Zargar on Thursday that at least 65 Americans were among the missing foreign nationals in the small Himalayan nation, almost doubling the number of U.S. nationals reported missing the previous day. Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah left by road to assess the flood situation in one of the worst affected districts of Nuwakot, his office said on social media.
The Nepal Police reported at least 353 people dead and 826 missing. In Tibet, a mudslide that struck near the land border crossing of Gyirong Port on Wednesday left mud in the surrounding areas more than 5 feet deep on average, with some road sections exceeding 6 feet, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV separately reported that 558 people were missing in Tibet — 260 of them foreigners — and two villagers were rescued. In a series of social media posts , the U.S. Embassy in Nepal expressed "heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the devastating floods" and said it was "working to account for U.S. citizens who may have been affected.
Chinese government geologist Guo Zhaocheng said the ice-avalanche debris flow that caused the mudslide travelled at about 50 metres per second, leaving people little time to react, and extended for more than 20 km (12 miles), causing severe losses.
The disaster is a major challenge for Shah’s five-month-old government but officials said the country had systems and officials who have experience in handling such tragedies, including the 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people.
China is in close communication with Nepal on search and rescue efforts, with nearly 100 Chinese nationals in the affected area across the border in Nepal, the Chinese foreign ministry said. In the hardest-hit districts, helicopters were dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India, said Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal’s army.
What's confirmed
- Chinese state broadcaster CCTV separately reported that 558 people were missing in Tibet — 260 of them foreigners — and two villagers were rescued.
- Rescuers found bodies about 62 miles downstream from the disaster zone in Chitwan district.
- In Tibet, a mudslide that struck near the land border crossing of Gyirong Port on Wednesday left mud in the surrounding areas more than 5 feet deep on average, with some road sections exceeding 6 feet, Chinese state…
- The tally of missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county was 558, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday, including 260 foreign nationals.
- Ganesh Aryal, the administrator of Chitwan district, said authorities had recovered 103 bodies from the river system in his district which is about 100 km (62 miles) away in the plains from the worst-hit region of…
What's still developing
- The Nepal Police reported at least 353 people dead and 826 missing.
- At least three people were reported killed as of Thursday morning, it said.
- Zargar on Thursday that at least 65 Americans were among the missing foreign nationals in the small Himalayan nation, almost doubling the number of U.S. nationals reported missing the previous day.
- In a subsequent update, the tourism board said 27 foreign nationals had been rescued from the flood zone in the Rasuwa district, including two U.S. nationals identified as a man and woman in their 50s.
- The spokesperson said the agency was not yet aware of any U.S. deaths.
- In a series of social media posts , the U.S. Embassy in Nepal expressed "heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the devastating floods" and said it was "working to…
- The embassy urged U.S. nationals in the region who were able to contact their families, hotels, guides or trekking or tour companies as soon as possible however they could, but it noted that communications were still…
- The U.S. State Department said it was closely monitoring the situation and sending an adviser to the region to help with response efforts, as well as a $500,000 grant to Catholic Relief Services.