KATHMANDU, September 3: The combined death toll from the devastating Nepal-Tibet flash floods has risen to 1,250 in a fresh Thursday morning update, as rescue teams continue searching tunnels, hydropower facilities and debris-covered settlements for thousands of people who remain unaccounted for.
Tunnel Rescue Operations Continue
Rescue efforts remain focused on areas along the Bhotekoshi River and underground sections of damaged hydropower projects, where workers are feared trapped behind mud, rocks and flood debris.
Teams from Nepal, along with specialist personnel from India, China and other international partners, are assisting in technically difficult rescue operations.
Thousands Remain Missing
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority separately reported 4,216 people missing in Nepal, including around 900 workers associated with hydropower facilities.
Among the missing are 583 foreign nationals, highlighting the international scale of the disaster.
On the Chinese side, authorities have reported 21 deaths and 541 people still missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county, near the Nepal border.
Nearly 12,000 People Rescued
Nepalese security agencies have so far rescued 11,993 people through helicopter missions and ground operations.
Around 21,314 security personnel, including members of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, have been mobilised for search, rescue and relief efforts.
Hydropower Workers Remain Major Concern
Hundreds of workers associated with damaged hydropower projects remain unaccounted for.
Rescue teams are concentrating on tunnel systems where officials believe some workers could have survived in sections containing pockets of air. Mud, collapsed infrastructure and blocked access routes have made the operations extremely difficult.
Families Hold Symbolic Funerals
As the disaster enters its second week, some families have begun holding symbolic funerals for relatives who remain missing, even as rescuers continue searching for survivors.
Some foreign tourists earlier listed as missing have managed to contact authorities, but hundreds of foreign nationals remain unaccounted for.
Nepal Raises Climate-Change Concerns
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said the scale of the disaster highlights the increasing risks faced by Himalayan communities and called for climate-related threats to be raised more strongly at the international level.
International organisations including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union and United Nations have pledged assistance for relief and recovery efforts.
Officials caution that casualty and missing-person figures remain subject to revision as information reaches authorities from remote areas and identities are verified.
source – Akashvani News
Supreme News Network
