KATHMANDU:The death toll from flash floods in central Nepal rose to 579 on Friday, with more bodies recovered as search and rescue operations resume at full pace after a brief slowdown due to fear of fresh floods following an increase in the water level in the Bhotekoshi River area.
According to a New York Times report, Nepal officials doubled the number of missing to 1,900 on Friday, after around 900 people connected with hydropower projects were found unaccounted for. Meanwhile, 320 Indians remain missing and around 400 others are stranded on the Chinese side.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 96 Indian nationals who were stranded on the Chinese side have safely crossed over to Nepal by land route. Twenty-one Indians arrived in New Delhi this afternoon, a day after they reached Kathmandu from the flood-affected areas of Nepal, he said.
The Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu were received at the airport in Delhi by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Fears of a second wave of flash floods loomed large, after authorities issued a fresh warning amid an increase in the water level in the Bhotekoshi River area.
“The water level mixed with mud has increased at the same place where the flash flood occurred on Wednesday, and there is a risk of more flooding in the area,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.
The NDRRMA urged people involved in search and rescue operations, as well as those staying in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli areas, to remain highly alert and immediately move to safer places if they face any risk.
As search and rescue operations continued for the third day and more bodies were recovered, morgues have started running out of space.