Nepali Rescuers Buoyed by Miracle Finds as Difficult Search Continues
Nepali rescuers continued difficult search operations Sunday as efforts to find survivors of catastrophic floods entered their 12th day, with the discovery of four people alive offering renewed hope.
The glacial and mountain collapse along the China-Nepal border has killed at least 1,372 people and left more than 5,500 missing across the two countries.
Two more survivors were found Saturday, following the rescue of two Nepali hydropower workers the previous day. Three of the four survivors were found inside hydropower tunnels, where authorities had initially believed more than 100 workers might still be trapped.
“Search and rescue is going on at the tunnels despite geography, adverse weather and lack of connectivity,” Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha told AFP.
The disaster struck on August 26 when a massive wall of icy water and debris swept through mountain districts, destroying roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
On Saturday, rescuers pulled a Chinese man alive from deep inside a hydropower tunnel and rescued 64-year-old Nepali woman Chandrika Shrestha from her mud-covered home. Prime Minister Balendra Shah said her rescue had “given hope to the entire nation.”
At least 12 hydropower projects have been affected, while authorities are working to restore electricity in several areas. Shrestha said solar power was being used in locations that remained inaccessible.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal described the disaster as a “Himalayan tsunami” and warned that reconstruction costs could reach billions of dollars.
The United Nations has described the scale of destruction as a major challenge for aid delivery and launched a $50 million appeal to support more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster.
With mortuaries overflowing, hundreds of bodies have been buried in mass graves after DNA samples were collected for future identification, according to police. Only about 100 bodies have so far been identified and returned to their families.
Nepal will observe a national day of mourning on Monday, the 13th day since the disaster, in accordance with traditional Hindu mourning practices.
The exact cause of the glacial collapse remains unclear, although scientists have warned that climate change is accelerating glacial melting worldwide and increasing the risk of such disasters.
Nepal’s disaster agency said 1,341 bodies had been recovered in the country, while around 4,996 people remained missing. Chinese state media reported 31 deaths and 531 missing people in Tibet.
The combined death toll stands at 1,372, with more than 5,500 people missing, including around 800 foreigners, among them tourists and pilgrims.
