"Dozens of Tour Buses Swept Away"... Why Many Missing Are Foreigners

[Anchor]

Among those missing in the recent massive floods, a particularly large number are foreign nationals. The flooded region is close to a Hindu holy site, drawing many pilgrims, while simultaneously being a peak destination for Himalayan trekkers.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae has the details.

[Reporter]

Of the roughly 820 people reported missing by Nepali police so far, about 600 are foreigners hailing from 28 countries, including India, the United States, and Australia.

On the Chinese side as well, nearly half of the total missing—around 260 people—have been identified as foreign nationals.

Indians have suffered the heaviest toll among them, with at least 133 missing while on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, a sacred Hindu and Buddhist site located in the disaster-hit region.

Of those, 77 reportedly fell victim to the disaster while waiting at a Chinese border checkpoint to visit Mount Kailash.

Pilgrims recruited by multiple travel agencies were traveling together in large groups by bus.

[Suminia Udas / Member of the House of Representatives of Nepal: Dozens of tour buses carrying pilgrims heading to Mount Kailash, one of the most sacred sites in Hinduism, were swept away by torrential currents.]

In addition, a large number of foreign tourists who set out on Himalayan treks have gone missing.

Syabrubesi, the starting point of the Langtang trek—well-known to South Koreans as one of the three major Himalayan treks—was completely wiped out by the massive floods, and it is presumed that many foreign tourists suffered casualties as a result.

With roads cut off and communications severed by the massive floods, possibilities have been raised that tourists may also be stranded along the Langtang trekking route.

[Arjun / Secretary General of the Nepal-Korea Trekking and Tourism Association: There is an area famous as a Hindu holy site along the Langtang trekking route. There are some locals and others who are currently isolated in that area.]

The gorge areas of the Himalayas, which served as gateways for people gathering from all over the world for trekking and pilgrimages, instantly turned into disaster zones where the line between life and death was drawn.

(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.