Nepal and Tibet Floods: Death Toll Exceeds 1,300 as Search for Missing Continues
World
Nepal has declared a nationwide day of mourning for the victims of the devastating floods that struck on August 26. According to official figures, more than 1,300 people have died in Nepal and Tibet, while around 5,000 remain missing.
Rescue teams are concentrating their main efforts on 12 hydropower facilities, where around 900 workers have disappeared and another 500 are believed to remain trapped in tunnels. Search operations are being conducted on the ground, from the air and inside tunnels.
On Monday, flags were lowered at government institutions across Nepal as families of the victims observed mourning rituals. In the predominantly Hindu country, traditional mourning lasts 13 days. Some families of those still missing have held symbolic funerals without the bodies of their relatives, following Hindu mourning traditions.
In Kathmandu, relatives of missing workers gathered outside the prime minister’s residence and several ministries, calling on authorities to speed up the search. The workers were employed at hydropower facilities and may have been swept away by the Bhote Koshi River or buried under debris.
Rescuers continue to find survivors. On Saturday, a Chinese national was discovered at one of the power plants, while two Nepalese workers were rescued there on Friday. The rescue of three workers from tunnels over the weekend has raised hopes of finding more survivors.
Rescue teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States are taking part in the operation. They are searching through debris, damaged structures and tunnels at the affected facilities.
Australian rescue operations expert Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, described the disaster as an unprecedented challenge. He said several search operations were being conducted simultaneously in different hydropower tunnels, each involving its own risks and uncertainties.
Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP on Monday that the rescue operation was continuing at the same pace as on the first day. He said efforts were focused on locating and rescuing people on the ground, from the air and inside tunnels.
Dix previously served as a key adviser during the 2023 operation to rescue 41 people who spent 17 days trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in India. He said the experience had taught him “never to confuse unlikely with impossible.”
On Monday, flags were lowered at government institutions across Nepal as families of the victims observed mourning rituals. In the predominantly Hindu country, traditional mourning lasts 13 days. Some families of those still missing have held symbolic funerals without the bodies of their relatives, following Hindu mourning traditions.
In Kathmandu, relatives of missing workers gathered outside the prime minister’s residence and several ministries, calling on authorities to speed up the search. The workers were employed at hydropower facilities and may have been swept away by the Bhote Koshi River or buried under debris.
Rescuers continue to find survivors. On Saturday, a Chinese national was discovered at one of the power plants, while two Nepalese workers were rescued there on Friday. The rescue of three workers from tunnels over the weekend has raised hopes of finding more survivors.
Rescue teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States are taking part in the operation. They are searching through debris, damaged structures and tunnels at the affected facilities.
Australian rescue operations expert Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, described the disaster as an unprecedented challenge. He said several search operations were being conducted simultaneously in different hydropower tunnels, each involving its own risks and uncertainties.
Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP on Monday that the rescue operation was continuing at the same pace as on the first day. He said efforts were focused on locating and rescuing people on the ground, from the air and inside tunnels.
Dix previously served as a key adviser during the 2023 operation to rescue 41 people who spent 17 days trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in India. He said the experience had taught him “never to confuse unlikely with impossible.”
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