At least 165 killed in Nepal-Tibet mudslide disaster; Israeli among hundreds missing
Times of Israel · LC · trust 51/100
NUWAKOT, Nepal — Rescue teams rushed Thursday to find hundreds of people missing, including an Israeli, on the Nepal-Tibet border in flash floods and landslides that killed at least 165 and swept away entire villages.
A terrifying clip of surveillance video from the Chinese side of the frontier shows a massive wall of mud and debris crashing over a building several stories high on Wednesday morning, engulfing it as dozens of people ran for their lives below. The surge swept away buses and cars like they were toys.
Many of the missing are foreign tourists, officials said of the disaster, which the US Geological Survey said was caused by a glacial collapse that sent a flow of debris engulfing areas along the way.
According to the Ynet news site, the Israeli citizen reported missing is around 60 years old and crossed the border from Tibet the morning of the flood.
His condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
The tsunami-like rumble of water and mud struck villages and towns on the path of two rivers — Bhote Koshi and Trishuli, with Nepali police saying they had recovered 162 bodies.
Across the border, the Chinese state broadcaster said a “mudslide disaster” at the Gyirong Port in Tibet claimed three lives while 558 people were still missing.
Nepali Raju Bhadel, 56, recounted receiving a call from his brother-in-law in distress.
“They were crying and said their entire house had been swept away. Three family members were rescued, but his brother is still missing,” he said.
Rescuers waded through mud and sludge to look for survivors after floodwaters buried the lower floors of multi-storey buildings.
Some 468 tourists — including 393 foreigners — were unaccounted for 24 hours after the disaster struck, according to Nepal’s tourism ministry.
The missing foreigners included 142 Indians, and others from Australia, Britain, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea and the United States, the tourism board said.
One tour company said they were missing 47 people from a group, including two children.
The group included 15 Australians, 10 Canadians, nine Nepalese, eight Americans, two Britons, two Singaporeans, and one Russian-American dual citizen, Himalayan Glacier managing director Sanket Pandey said.
“Entire villages and market areas have been wiped out,” said David Fisher, the Nepal head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
It said it was dispatching emergency supplies including blankets, first aid kits, stretchers and body bags.
Tibet government officials mobilised nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles, as well as sniffer dogs and speed boats to help the rescue efforts, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua said.
Experts cautioned that a lingering blockage in a river could produce an additional flood.
Monsoon rains from June to September regularly trigger deadly floods and landslides across South Asia.
Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.
Many trekking companies were not running tours during the monsoon season, but there remain significant numbers of travelers, including pilgrims in the region.
Among sites hit by the flood was Syabrubesi, the gateway to the popular trekking areas, as well as by pilgrims travelling to the base of Mount Kailash, a holy site for Buddhists and Hindus.
Images shared by Nepali police showed floodwater surging through a river, sweeping away houses in its path, while AFP images depicted the top floor of a house sticking out from muddy soil.
Rasuwa, in the north of Nepal, was the first district to be affected. But deaths have been reported from seven Nepali districts in total as the floodwaters raged downstream, all the way to Chitwan in the south, on the border with India.
The Nepali Army was carrying out flights and had rescued scores of people, while others living near the river in danger zones had been told to relocate.
The US Geological Survey said Thursday that seismic activity initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow” that “caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream.”
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday that “a mudslide disaster” on the Nepali side resulted in “major casualties and missing people” at the Gyirong Port in Tibet.
China’s leader Xi Jinping said that “the most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people,” according to CCTV.
Traffic authorities in Tibet’s Shigatse said roads in the area were “at risk of mudslides and unsafe for passage.”
Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks at the Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), warned of the potential for a second flood.
“With a blockage still lodged upstream on the Nepal-China border river, authorities warn a second flood may occur,” he told AFP.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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