KABUL (Pajhwok): The death toll from devastating floods in Nepal has risen to 1,050, while around 4,000 people remain missing and large-scale rescue operations involving teams from Nepal, China and India are continuing.
Rescue workers were using heavy machinery, helicopters and excavators to reach remote areas that were severely affected by floods and landslides nearly a week ago, Reuters reported.
It said specialised rescue teams from China, India and Nepal had built temporary bridges to reach remote areas and dug through the ruins of hydropower projects, using excavators to try to rescue nearly 300 workers trapped inside tunnels.
At least 639 people remain stranded in devastated hydropower stations that have become the focus of rescue efforts, Nepal’s disaster management authority said.
It said the death toll had risen to 1,050, while about 4,000 people remained missing, including 583 foreign nationals.
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said more than 11,000 people had so far been rescued and electricity and telecommunications services had been restored in some areas.
Meanwhile, an initial assessment by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that the disaster had left at least 2.2 million tonnes of debris, including parts of buildings, rocks and sediment.
China said it would send DNA testing experts and a second shipment of humanitarian aid, including drones and water purification equipment, to the affected areas.
South Korea also said it would deploy a 44-member emergency relief team to assist with search and rescue operations.
The Nepalese prime minister said more than $42 million in aid had so far been received following the floods and that international assistance was expected to increase.
According to reports, the floods occurred after a natural glacier collapse on August 26, sending huge amounts of ice, rocks and mud into areas along Nepal’s border with China.
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