NEARLY 1,500 MISSING AS FRESH FLOOD THREAT LOOMS
KATHMANDU, AUG 27 (PTI): The death toll from the massive Nepal-Tibet flash floods rose to 392 on Thursday, as rescuers raced against time to trace hundreds of people still missing, including 290 Indian nationals.
Of the 392 victims, 389 died in the flash floods in Nepal, while three were killed in neighbouring Tibet.
A Nepal Police statement said 796 people, including 50 foreigners, have so far been rescued from affected areas by helicopters, while another 796 have been evacuated by land.
It did not, however, specify the nationalities of the foreigners.
The death toll from the floods has risen to 389, the statement said.
An ice-rock avalanche triggered by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a torrent of water, mud and debris downstream through central Nepal on Wednesday, devastating towns and villages, washing away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, and damaging hydropower projects.
A fresh flood threat persisted downstream after a new barrier lake formed near the source of the Bhote Koshi river system, with authorities warning that a possible breach could trigger another surge in the river and downstream areas.
Nepal authorities reported 910 people missing, as rescuers searched river corridors clogged by mud and debris and families crowded hospitals in a desperate hunt for loved ones.
The disaster also left 558 people missing in Tibet, officials said, taking the number of people reported missing on the two sides of the border to 1,468.
The disaster has also triggered an urgent effort by India to trace its nationals, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying 290 Indian nationals remain uncontactable.
New Delhi is making “urgent efforts” to ascertain their whereabouts and coordinate their rescue, the ministry said.
The USGS said its analysis of long-period seismic waves showed that the event initially reported as a 4.4-magnitude earthquake was generated by a glacial collapse and debris flow, rather than an earthquake.
Authorities are still assessing the full extent of the destruction.