Rescue operations enter the sixth day as Nepal battles a massive flash flood disaster, while Assam continues efforts to trace and bring home stranded workers
The death toll from devastating flash floods in Nepal has climbed to 903, while 4,247 people remain missing, including 85 security personnel and 320 foreigners, authorities said on Monday.
The disaster, which struck on August 26, was reportedly triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border. Flash floods devastated towns and villages across northern and central Nepal, with bodies recovered from all eight affected districts.
According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 272 bodies were recovered from Chitwan, 207 from Nawalparasi East, 151 from Nawalparasi West, 62 from Gorkha, 95 from Nuwakot, 55 from Dhading, 37 from Tanahu and 24 from Rasuwa.
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah described the disaster as “unimaginable and heartbreaking”, saying adverse weather, difficult terrain and continuing risks were making it difficult to assess the full extent of the losses.
Meanwhile, relief has emerged for families in Assam. Eight migrant workers from Assam stranded in Nepal have been rescued and brought back, while five of their colleagues remain missing.
The 13 workers were deployed at a power-grid site when floodwaters reportedly rose by nearly 60 feet, forcing them to escape to nearby hills, where they remained stranded for three days. Nepal’s military air-dropped food and water before the workers were evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu.
Following intervention by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the eight workers were brought across the India-Nepal border. An Assam Police team escorted them to Dhubri late Sunday, and they left for their respective home districts on Monday.
The rescued workers are Pankaj Barman, Gopal Chand Debnath, Gautam Das, Shilva Marak, Ilipson Sangma, Samar Bezbaruah, Sarbhishon Marak and Chanreshwar Narzary.
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