Nepal disaster death toll reaches 750 as thousands remain missing and search continues
People walk past damaged buildings and homes covered in mud after deadly flooding (Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)
Rescuers in Nepal and China continued searching Sunday for thousands of people missing after a glacier collapse triggered a catastrophic mudslide in the Himalayas, Reuters reported on Aug. 30.
According to official figures, the death toll has risen to 750, while more than 3,000 people remain missing on both sides of the Nepal-China border after a torrent of ice, rocks, mud and debris swept through mountain valleys and rivers Wednesday. The Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people may have been affected by the disaster.
Nepal has confirmed 734 deaths, with 2,498 people still missing and 7,514 rescued. On the Chinese side, 16 people were killed in Gyirong County and another 546 remain missing. Beijing said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries remain unaccounted for in Tibet near a key border crossing with Nepal.
In Nepal, authorities have begun mass burials of hundreds of unidentified victims whose bodies had begun to decompose, Reuters reported. Police officer Anil Thapa said more than half of the bodies recovered could not be identified. Many were missing faces, with only arms or legs remaining, while others were missing most of their heads. More than 100 unidentified bodies were buried Saturday, and additional graves were being dug Sunday for hundreds more.
China conceals scale of disaster from its citizens
BBC Beijing correspondent Laura Bicker reported that footage of the disaster has been largely absent from Chinese media. Dramatic videos showing the torrent sweeping people away at the Gyirong border crossing have circulated around the world but have not appeared on Chinese television. State television showed only one still image, while the full video is difficult to find on China’s censored internet.
There are also few accounts from survivors or witnesses on the Tibetan side. Journalists are prohibited from entering the region without government permission, and contacting local residents is difficult even under normal circumstances. On Thursday, as international media reported on the destruction in the Himalayan valley, China’s main state television newscast opened with a report on the launch of a new book by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
According to Bicker, local Communist Party authorities instructed officials to “make every effort to maintain public order and public confidence in the affected areas.” Those who perform well were promised rewards, while those who fail to do so could be held accountable. Human rights activists say Tibetans can be detained for speaking with journalists or publishing information that contradicts the official account.
Nepal disaster
On Aug. 26, devastating flooding struck Nepal’s Rasuwa district after water levels rose in the Bhote Koshi River, which originates in the mountains of Tibet. At the time, as many as 265 tourists and travelers were reported missing, while the flooding swept away or damaged communities, bridges, roads and seven hydroelectric power plants. About 50,000 people live in the affected area.
As of the morning of Aug. 30, there had been no change in the number of Ukrainians who remain out of contact, with 56 people still unaccounted for, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.
Search-and-rescue operations are continuing daily. Chinese rescue teams are searching through the ruins of the Gyirong border crossing, working on land and water and using heavy drones. Officials from the Ukrainian Embassy in India reached an agreement with Nepalese authorities to obtain geolocation data from the devices of missing Ukrainians to assist in the search.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said the situation remains difficult because of the scale of the destruction and the risk of further landslides, adding that the cases of the 56 missing Ukrainian citizens remain under close review.
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