26 Gujarat-Linked People, Including NRIs, Missing After Nepal Flash Floods
The number of Gujarat-linked people reported missing following devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 26, including several NRIs from the state, officials said on Friday.
The Gujarat government has intensified coordination with the Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs to trace the missing individuals and assist those stranded in the affected areas, officials said.
The latest list issued by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) includes nine additional names, taking the number of Gujarat-linked people reported untraceable from 17 to 26.
Many of those missing were travelling along the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage route or were in areas close to the Nepal-Tibet border when the disaster struck.
Nepal-Tibet Flash Flood Death Toll Rises to 469
The death toll from the flash floods in central Nepal climbed to 469 on Friday as rescue and search operations entered their third day, with more bodies being recovered from the affected regions.
Nepal Police said in a statement that the bodies had been recovered from eight districts across the Himalayan nation.
According to the police, 178 bodies were recovered from Chitwan, 110 from Nawalparasi East, 44 from Gorkha, 37 from Nuwakot and 33 from Dhading.
Another 28 bodies were recovered from Tanahu, 27 from Nawalparasi West and 12 from Rasuwa, the police said.
So far, 1,545 people who were injured or stranded have been rescued from different flood-hit areas. Of them, 84 are currently receiving treatment at hospitals in Kathmandu.
The disaster was triggered on Wednesday when an ice-rock avalanche caused by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a massive torrent of water, mud and debris downstream through central Nepal.
The flash floods caused widespread destruction across towns and villages, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.
