At least 165 people have been killed by flooding and landslides on the border between Nepal and China-controlled Tibet. Identification of the dead is ongoing, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said. As of the morning of 27 August, more than 800 people in Nepal are considered missing, including 85 emergency service workers who cannot be reached, the BBC reports.
Those missing include tourists, local residents and security personnel. There has been no contact with 529 tourists.
At least 133 of the missing are Indian citizens. Yesterday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that it had been unable to reach 53 Ukrainian tourists. The ministry, the Consular Service Department and the embassies are working to obtain information and assist families.
Nepal’s army managed to rescue seven people from a tunnel at a hydroelectric project in Ghaku, in Rasuwa district. A rescue operation is continuing in three more tunnels.
On the Tibetan side, 558 people are missing, including 260 foreign nationals. Rescue operations in Tibet are becoming increasingly difficult due to unstable weather conditions and the remoteness of the area, Chinese authorities say.
The landslide that engulfed Gyirong County in Tibet is almost 1.5 metres deep, and its edge stretches 2.5 km from the border crossing, which “significantly complicates further rescue work”, state broadcaster CCTV quoted officials as saying.
Meteorological services expect rain to continue for the next three days along the route between the Gyirong border crossing and Dingri Airport, which will hamper rescue efforts.