In view of the devastating flash floods on Nepal-Tibet border, the Indian Embassy in China and Nepal have shared helpline numbers for Indian nationals who may be stranded in or around the areas impacted by floods.
“We can’t say they are missing. Just that we are unable to get in touch with them. They may have shifted to safer/higher areas. “We want the Nepal embassy to help us. We are unable to get in touch with anyone in Nepal. They were in a village called Tumur which is badly hit. Rescue teams are on standby in parts of Bihar that share the border with Nepal in view of the flash floods. Evacuations have been started in some districts already, though the flood waters have yet not reached India.
At least 98 people have been killed – 95 in Nepal and 3 in Tibet – so far after devastating flash floods struck Nepal along its border with Tibet on Wednesday. Nearly 400 tourists, including 133 from India, are missing, though the Nepalese authorities have maintained that these people are ‘out of touch’ and not missing. The 398 include 133 Indian nationals, 59 Nepalese and other foreigners. An hour ago, the number of missing was 463.
Most of the missing people were on three different treks/yatra – Kailash Mansarovar, Langtang trek and Gosaikunda trek,” Jai Narayan Acharya, Nepal’s tourism joint secretary, said. Meanwhile, a Delhi resident named Seema Raula said her brother Sumit Rawla and sister-in-law Shukabshi Rawal are missing after the devastating flash floods. She said the couple are Singapore citizens and OCI card-holders who were on their way to Kailash Mansarovar. Across the border, Tibet reported “major casualties” with some missing in the neighbouring county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a land crossing between China and Nepal, the Xinhua official news agency said.
They were supposed to cross the border today,” Raula told HT.
