Missing Persons Surge to 826 in Nepal Floods; 165 Bodies Recovered

On the 27th local time, the second day after massive floods hit the Himalayan mountainous region of Nepal near the Chinese border, the number of missing persons surged to approximately 820.

According to local Nepali media Online Khabar and Reuters, Nepali police announced on this day that 826 people are missing due to the massive floods that struck areas of the northern Bagmati Province the previous day.

The number of missing people, which stood at 484 the previous day, increased by nearly 350 in a single day as reports continued to pour in.

Among the total missing, about 600 are foreign nationals, while over 200 are Nepalis.

The missing foreigners are reportedly from about 28 countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Italy, and Ukraine.

Nine South Koreans belonging to Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility, who were constructing a hydroelectric power plant in the region, also remain out of contact.

A joint government rapid response team consisting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korean National Police Agency, and the National Fire Agency departed from Incheon International Airport on this day and headed for Kathmandu, Nepal.

As search operations continued, the death toll, which was 157 until the previous day, rose by 8 more, with Nepali police recovering 165 bodies.

"We have resumed the search and expect more bodies to be recovered," said Nepal Police Spokesperson Binod Narayan Kafle, adding that "the death toll is also expected to rise."

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority of Nepal stated that 80 bridges and 40 kilometers of roads were damaged, and 83 security personnel, including local police and soldiers, are missing.

A landslide, appearing to be related to the cause of these floods, also occurred in Gyirong County, Xigaze, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region near the Nepal border, leaving 3 dead and 558 missing.

Among those missing in Tibet, 260 are foreign nationals.

Combining the number of missing persons from both Nepal and Tibet exceeds 1,300.

Possibilities have been raised that the floods were caused by the collapse of massive glaciers and rocks due to climate change in the Himalayas driven by global warming.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.