Kathmandu (Monitoring Desk) — The death toll from severe floods and landslides in Nepal and Tibet has reached 626, while more than 2,000 people remain missing. Search and rescue operations are continuing in the affected areas.
Nepal has requested special assistance from the international community following the devastating floods. According to officials, experts and equipment are required in various areas, including the search for people trapped in tunnels, DNA testing to identify bodies, and cold storage facilities to preserve the remains.
Officials said access to affected areas has become difficult due to the destruction of several bridges, while bodies swept away by floodwaters have reached remote locations. External assistance will also be necessary to restore civil infrastructure.
For relief activities, 15,000 security personnel have been deployed, while according to the Nepalese Prime Minister’s Office, an additional 1,200 soldiers have also been deployed to accelerate the search for missing people and recovery of bodies.
Meanwhile, Chinese experts are continuously monitoring the situation of a lake formed as a result of a landslide. The situation in the area is being described as highly sensitive due to the risk of a sudden release of water.
Nepal initially denied the need for foreign relief teams. However, after the floods left its citizens missing and following requests and pressure from various countries, the government decided to accept assistance from foreign rescue teams.
South Korea has sent a relief team to Nepal and announced that another disaster-response team will also be dispatched. India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, among several other countries, have also sought permission to send search and rescue teams to Nepal.