At least 22 people have died and hundreds are missing due to the flooding caused by the heavy rise of the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa, a mountainous district in northern Nepal, near the border with Tibet, according to authorities in the country on Wednesday.
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Along the riverbed, dozens of settlements and infrastructures have been severely affected by the water, which has also caused heavy damage in China, on the other side of the border area, especially at the Gyirong pass. The Nepal Army has indicated that, so far, 88 people have been rescued alive.
Numerous personnel have had to be mobilized despite the serious difficulties in accessing the affected areas. For this, they have the help of 14 helicopters and security forces agents, all waiting to continue search and rescue operations, according to reports from the newspaper The Kathmandu Post.
Among the places that have suffered serious damage are markets and security posts in the area. In addition, it is estimated that 32 personnel are missing near the border with China.
The authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of these floods, but several senior officials point to a landslide that may have blocked the course of a river in Tibet before the Bhotekoshi overflowed. Thus, they have urged residents of areas near the Trishuli River to stay away and move to safe areas.
The Nepal Tourism Board has told local media that about 400 tourists, all pilgrims heading to Mount Kailash in Tibet, are currently missing due to the inability to communicate as the floods continue.
The authorities have thus placed the number of tourists lost contact with at 384, of whom at least 93 are Nepalese and 291 foreigners. Initial reports indicate that 105 are Indian, 17 Malaysian, 12 British, four South African, three American, one Australian, and one Dutch. The rest of the nationalities have not been revealed.
In this regard, they have asked tourists to remain calm, stay informed, and follow at all times the official safety instructions given by the relevant authorities.
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