At least twenty bodies have been recovered after flash flooding in Nepal, with the death toll expected to rise dramatically as hundreds of peole, including many tourists, remain missing.
A wall of mud and rock appeared to collapse into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and China’s Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding on the Nepali side that killed at least 20 people and left hundreds of tourists missing.
In a still-unfolding disaster, verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction.
Houses, roads and power projects were swept away in Nepal, while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” with some missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a border land crossing.
Initial reports suggested that an earthquake in the area could have triggered an avalanche and caused the floods, Nepal’s foreign minister Shisir Khanal told the country’s parliament on Wednesday, local media reported.
At least 384 travellers, including 105 Indians, 93 Nepalis, three U.S. citizens and 12 British nationals were missing from the region, Nepal’s tourism authority said.
South Korean news agency Yonhap separately reported that about eight of its nationals were also unaccounted for in Nepal.
Flood alerts were issued in the populous northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as they border Nepal and several rivers flow down the mountains into their plains.
[Source: Reuters]
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