Death toll tops 900 in Nepal-Tibet flooding as rescue efforts intensify with more than 4,000 still missing
New York Post · RC · trust 46/100
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on Google The desperate search continues for the 85 missing American tourists — including several tri-state residents — as the death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Nepal climbs past 900.
Rescue teams are working tirelessly around the clock at the Nepali-Tibetan border to search for a total of more than 4,700 missing people in the muddy ground after last week’s deadly flood , Nepal’s disaster agency said Monday.
Of the missing, 592 are foreigners, officials said.
Among the foreigners missing are 85 Americans, many of whom had traveled to the region on a religious pilgrimage to climb Mount Kailash — one of the most sacred peaks for Hindus, Buddhists and people of other faiths.
Long Island locals Amita Amin, 67, and Jitendra Manubhai Patel, 63 , along with New Jersey resident Tejal Vyomesh Patel, 64, were taking part in the pilgrimage when they vanished in the disaster.
Nine Americans have been safely evacuated from Nepal since the tragedy, the US State Department said Sunday.
The State Department has been coordinating rescue efforts with US embassies in Nepal and China.
However, the remote terrain where the disaster struck has presented major logistical challenges for search teams.
“Our embassies in Beijing and Kathmandu are working 24/7 in terms of communicating and coordinating with local officials, trying to get that reliable information,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday.
Pigott said the State Department has activated $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian assistance for the region — enough to help 10,000 affected households and fund the rebuilding of destroyed roads.
The disaster, which was triggered by a glacier collapse, unfolded near the Rasuwagadhi border post, where a landslide triggered apocalyptic flooding that swallowed entire villages in one devastating wave.
The flood was described by local officials as a “tsunami from the sky.”
Read the original at New York Post →
Open in TruthVane →