▲ Bodies are being transported from the Gandak River in the Maharajganj district of northern India, near Nepal, on the 27th (local time).
Bodies of victims swept away by the extremely powerful currents of the massive floods in Nepal and China—which have left more than 2,000 people dead or missing—have begun being discovered in downstream rivers in India, more than 100 kilometers away from the disaster zones.
According to AFP and local media outlet The New Indian Express on the 28th (local time), authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal, announced that a total of seven bodies were recovered from the Gandak River.
Following the discovery of four unidentified bodies in the Maharajganj district the previous day, three additional bodies were recovered in the Kushinagar district.
The Gandak River is downstream of Nepal's Trishuli River, where the massive floods occurred on the 26th, and connects to the Ganges River.
Local authorities are sharing physical description information and cooperating with relevant Nepalese authorities to verify the identities of the bodies and locate their bereaved families.
Sources reported that the victims' bodies drifted about 150 kilometers downstream due to the strong currents of the massive floods, ultimately being found in India.
On this day, the third day since the large-scale floods struck the Himalayan mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, the total death toll confirmed in both countries reached 472, including 469 in Nepal and 3 in China.
However, the seven bodies recovered in India have not yet been included in this death toll tally.
The victims' bodies drifted across the border into India because the currents generated by this massive flood were unprecedentedly fast and powerful.
According to China Central Television (CCTV) and other sources, Chinese scientists comprehensively analyzed satellite data, on-site footage, and weather data, estimating that the moving speed of the glacier and rock debris mixture that triggered the massive flood reached about 50 meters per second, or about 180 kilometers per hour.
Generally, the moving speed of water mixed with mud and rocks (debris flows) caused by heavy rain landslides is at the level of tens of kilometers per hour.
This is because the altitude difference between the area estimated to be the initial site of the large-scale rock and glacier collapse—at an elevation of about 5,200 to 5,400 meters—and the affected downstream area reaches about 3,000 meters.
Falling from a height of 3,000 meters along a narrow canyon terrain, the debris flow acquired tremendous speed and destructive power, effectively pushing the bodies beyond Nepal's borders.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.