Kathmandu, Sept 10:
The death toll from the devastating flash floods that struck Nepal has climbed to 1,365, with rescue teams continuing an extensive search operation for thousands of missing people.
According to a Nepal Police bulletin, 5,326 people remain missing, including at least 589 foreign nationals. The death toll increased as rescue teams recovered more bodies from several badly affected districts.
Chitwan recorded the highest number of recovered bodies at 363, followed by Nawalparasi East with 226, Nawalparasi West with 222 and Nuwakot with 197. Another 174 bodies were recovered from Rasuwa, 75 from Gorkha, 70 from Dhading and 38 from Tanahu.
Authorities said 102 bodies had so far been identified and handed over to relatives. A further 1,147 unidentified bodies have been kept safely by security personnel after following prescribed procedures, including the collection of DNA samples to facilitate identification.
The disaster was triggered on August 26 by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border. The resulting flash floods sent huge volumes of water through the Bhotekoshi River and devastated settlements in northern and central Nepal.
Homes, vehicles, roads and bridges were swept away, while several hydropower projects and other infrastructure were damaged. The scale of destruction has severely affected transportation and communication links in the disaster-hit areas.
The disaster also caused casualties across the border in China. At least 43 people were reported killed on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people were reported missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.
Rescue personnel are continuing operations despite difficult terrain and damaged infrastructure. The priority remains locating survivors, recovering bodies, identifying victims and providing relief to people who have been cut off from the rest of the country.
The huge number of missing people has added to the humanitarian crisis, with authorities facing the difficult task of carrying out rescue and identification operations across areas severely affected by the floods.