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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

More countries join Nepal flood rescue efforts

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepal has expanded its response to the August 26 Bhotekoshi disaster by seeking foreign teams, equipment and technical expertise.
  • Authorities have recovered 903 bodies, rescued more than 10,000 people and continue searching for about 4,200 missing people, including roughly 590 foreign nationals.
  • India, China and Singapore are contributing tunnel-rescue, forensic and disaster-victim identification specialists, while Nepal seeks further recovery and reconstruction support.

Nepal’s rescue operation after the August 26 Bhotekoshi disaster has grown into an international effort as authorities confront difficult terrain, unidentified bodies and thousands of missing people.

The disaster-hit areas have yielded 903 bodies, while around 4,200 people remain unaccounted for. More than 10,000 people have been rescued, including over 323 foreign nationals. The Nepal Tourism Board says about 590 foreign nationals from 32 countries are still missing.

Nepal initially limited overseas involvement, but officials have since taken a more active role in requesting support that is not readily available domestically. “The Nepal government has become more proactive since Sunday in seeking logistical and technical assistance from foreign governments,” an official at a diplomatic mission in Nepal told the Post.

The Nepal government has become more proactive since Sunday in seeking logistical and technical assistance from foreign governments.

— An official at a diplomatic mission in NepalThe official described Nepal’s increased efforts to obtain foreign technical and logistical support.

India and China have sent tunnel-rescue teams to hydropower project sites in the affected areas. An 11-member Indian team is working at Mailung, at the Chilime Hydropower Project, while a nine-member Chinese team has been deployed at the Upper Trishuli 3A project in Syabrubesi. India has also sent 18 forensic specialists trained in DNA analysis to Kathmandu. The team is working with the Nepal Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital to identify victims.

Singapore is preparing to send police officers trained in Disaster Victim Identification at Nepal’s request. It also plans to provide humanitarian supplies from civilian sources and the Singapore Armed Forces. The assistance reflects a shift from an initially domestic rescue effort toward a broader operation covering search, identification, relief and recovery.

The team has arrived in Kathmandu and is working with the Nepal Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital to analyse DNA samples.

— Naveen SrivastavaIndia’s ambassador described the work of Indian forensic specialists sent to help identify victims.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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