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Nepal holds day of mourning after floods kill more than 1,300

From Arab Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Nepal observed an official day of mourning for floods that killed more than 1,300 people in Nepal and Tibet and left about 5,000 missing.
  • Families completed 13-day Hindu mourning rituals, including symbolic funerals for relatives whose bodies had not been found.
  • Relatives of missing hydropower workers protested in Kathmandu, saying search and rescue efforts had been too slow.

Nepal lowered flags at government offices on Monday as families completed 13 days of mourning for more than 1,300 people killed in the Aug. 26 floods. About 5,000 people remained missing in Nepal and Tibet, including foreigners, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency.

The 13th day carries particular significance in predominantly Hindu Nepal. Close relatives traditionally remain at home during the mourning period, while other family members visit to pay their respects. On the final day, families pray for the souls of the dead. Some people whose relatives were still missing held symbolic funerals without the bodies, seeking a sense of spiritual release through the final cremation rite.

We are here because we have not heard of any rescue attempt on this project, but it has been 13 days already.

· Sumana ShresthaShe protested in Kathmandu over the search for her husband, who disappeared at a hydropower project.

Search efforts continued, but relatives in Kathmandu said the response had not been sufficient. Families gathered near the offices of the prime minister and key ministries to demand faster rescue operations for hundreds of people working at hydropower plants. Some were swept away by the Bhotekoshi River, while others were buried under debris.

The only thing we have been able to do is pray to God and hope for a miracle.

· Sumana ShresthaShe described her family’s response after receiving no news about her missing husband.

Sumana Shrestha held a poster showing her 55-year-old husband, a consulting geologist who disappeared while working at the Trishuli hydropower plant. She said the project office, a two-and-a-half-story building, had been completely buried by debris.

“We are here because we have not heard of any rescue attempt on this project, but it has been 13 days already,” she said. “The only thing we have been able to do is pray to God and hope for a miracle.” Another protester, Mahesh Prasad Shrestha, said authorities sent only a small excavator by helicopter on the sixth or seventh day. “They should have ordered big helicopters from places like China or India to fly in equipment,” he said.

They should have ordered big helicopters from places like China or India to fly in equipment.

· Mahesh Prasad ShresthaHe criticized the authorities’ response to the search for missing hydropower workers.
About this summary

Originally published by Arab Times in English. Translated, 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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