KATHMANDU, Aug 29 — The number of people missing in the catastrophic flood that sliced through the border area between Nepal and Tibet neared 3,000 today, as rescuers scoured deep, leg-sucking mud for survivors.
Here are the latest developments after the tsunami-like disaster that struck the Himalaya region on Wednesday:
Tolls climb
Figures from Nepal and from Chinese authorities in charge of Tibet put the total number of missing close to 3,000, with 633 bodies recovered.
Nepal says there are 2,426 people, including hundreds of foreigners, who are out of contact in the country. It reported a death toll of 626 people today.
Tibet, an autonomous region of China, was largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, preventing independent reporting on the scale of the disaster in an area which has multiple villages.
China’s state Xinhua news agency said today that 554 people were missing, and seven people had died.
100 trapped in tunnels
Nepali army rescue teams were drilling in an “extremely challenging” bid to rescue more than 100 people trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels.
India, which has extensive experience in such rescues, has sent an 11-person specialised team. China has also sent nine-person tunnel team to help.
Reconstruction could cost ‘billions’
Nepal’s reconstruction bill could run into “billions of dollars”, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said.
“We will do loss and damage research and then we plan, but I am reaching out to our international community for support.”
Relatives crowd rescue hub
At an army base in the Nepali town of Bidur, a key rescue hub, relatives crowded around lists of rescued people pasted on a wall.
“I have come here looking for my son,” said Kalka Sharda, scanning the list in desperation. “He was a labourer at the hydropower plant, but I can’t find his name, and the authorities are not saying anything.”
India monitors glaciers
India is stepping up monitoring of its Himalayan regions bordering China and Nepal, days after the deadly flood apparently triggered by a glacial collapse.
“Since we share a border with Nepal, as a neighbour, and also have a similar geographic situation… we have asked our department to monitor all the glaciers and known glacial lakes in the region,” said Madan Kaushik, state disaster management minister in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
Aid offers
With as many as 93,000 people potentially affected in Nepal by the disaster, according to the Red Cross.
Nepal appealed yesterday for international financial assistance, as well as specialised rescue support, including heavy lift drones, DNA testing kits, and body freezer storage units.
So far, Canada has said it will provide C$5 million (RM14.5 million) in humanitarian assistance, while the EU has pledged €2 million (RM9.3 million).
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Beijing’s help yesterday. — AFP
