Helpless Even When Victims Are Found... Mud Piles Up Where Waters Receded

[Anchor]

Soldiers and police have been deployed to the disaster sites to conduct search and rescue operations for survivors. However, they are facing great difficulties in rescue efforts as the areas are completely filled with thick mud and building debris.

Reporter Yu Deok-gi has the details.

[Reporter]

A Nepali soldier carries a mud-covered survivor on his back to safety.

It is hard to take even a single step in the thick, waterlogged mud.

An elderly woman, rescued from the middle of the sludge by villagers and loaded onto a tractor, is also covered from head to toe in mud.

Stunned by the sudden disaster, she appears completely out of it.

Even among those fortunate enough to be rescued, most have lost their families and all their belongings.

[Keshab Prasad Baral / Survivor: I was on the terrace, and the floodwaters rose up to the roof. People were dying. It took about an hour for the water to recede a little, but my wife was already buried (in the landslide).]

[Jaleshwor Kumar Sahni / Survivor: Everything was destroyed in just 15 minutes. We have nothing left.]

On the second day since the floods and landslides struck, Nepali authorities have deployed military and police personnel to the disaster zones, mobilizing more than 3,000 police officers alone.

However, the search for survivors and rescue operations remain extremely difficult.

Torrential currents carrying massive boulders rolled down from the mountains, along with debris from buildings and broken bridges, are still flowing. Even when victims are spotted in the currents, rescuers are unable to reach them.

In areas where the water has receded, mud has piled up higher than an adult's waist.

With bridges and roads destroyed, some regions are not only inaccessible, but the full scale of the damage is also difficult to assess. Consequently, Nepali authorities have requested assistance not only from military helicopters but also from private aircraft.

Due to the sudden influx of mass casualties and a shortage of local medical facilities, authorities are also struggling to treat survivors and accommodate bodies.

Search and rescue operations in areas such as Gyirong County in Tibet, China, are also facing setbacks due to destroyed infrastructure and landslide debris.

[China Central Television (CCTV) Reporter: The thickness of the debris flow edge reaches nearly 1.5 meters. This has caused massive difficulties for the rescue work.]

Rain is forecasted across all of Gyirong County in Tibet from tomorrow (August 28) through Sunday, which is expected to add further strain to the search and rescue efforts.

(Video Editing: Oh Young-taek)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.