Nepal flash floods death toll rises to 1,344, nearly 4,900 still missing

Kathmandu, Sep 5 (PTI) The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,344 on Saturday as more bodies were recovered from the affected districts, police said.

Rescue teams continued to search for around 4,900 people who remain missing.

Of the total bodies recovered so far, 758 were adults, 85 were children and 501 were recovered with body parts missing, officials said, attributing the condition of the bodies to prolonged exposure to water and the weight of debris.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.

The disaster also killed at least 21 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.

In Nepal, around 360 bodies have been recovered in Chitwan district alone -- the highest among all districts. Other districts from which bodies were recovered include Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Tanahun, Nawalparasi East and Nawalparasi West.

So far, 1,030 bodies have been temporarily buried after required procedures, including DNA collection, were completed.

Authorities continued to monitor water levels in several rivers, including the Koshi, Narayani, Bagmati, Karnali, Mahakali, Kankai, Kamal, Kamala, Babai, Eastern Rapti and Western Rapti, while joint rescue teams led by the Nepal Army continued search and rescue operations for the eleventh day.

The number of missing people was estimated at 4,898. The missing include more than 600 children in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, officials said.

More than 13,000 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Major rescue operations were underway at hydropower projects in flood-affected districts, where hundreds of men are believed to be trapped in tunnels. Teams of experts from India and China were assisting their Nepali counterparts in the operations.

On Friday, two men were rescued alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project. They were identified as Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor on the project, and Sanjay Sah, 30, a foreman, according to the Public Relations Directorate of the Nepal Army.

Also, an Indian tunnel rescue team, who are continuing to work alongside the Nepalese Army, has made a temporary track inside the Chilime tunnel in flood-hit Rasuwa district to allow more heavy equipment to reach the affected areas, authorities said on Saturday. PTI