NEW DELHI, August 26. /TASS/. Rescuers in Nepal have recovered the bodies of at least 16 people killed in flooding in the country’s north, India TV reported.
According to preliminary data, around 1,000 people may have been swept away by floodwaters. The figure has not been officially confirmed, and the exact number of people affected remains unknown as search-and-rescue operations continue.
So far, 20 people have been rescued in the affected areas. Fifteen helicopters are involved in the operation, seven of them belonging to the Nepal Army and the rest to other agencies.
Authorities have urged residents living along the Bhote Koshi River to remain vigilant and move to higher ground amid fears of further flooding. People needing help and those out of contact have been advised to light fires so rescuers can spot the smoke.
At least 60 workers building the Langtang Khola Hydropower Project have gone missing in the flash flood, project Managing Director Bijay Mohan Bhattarai told reporters.
Contact with the workers was lost after the river flooded the construction site. "At the time contact was lost, more than 60 people were carrying out concrete work inside a tunnel," he said.
"We request the government to begin a search for them. The flood has caused serious damage to the plant’s infrastructure," Bhattarai said, adding that the flooding had affected a tunnel located around 10 meters above the river level. The 20-megawatt Langtang Khola Hydropower Project is being built in Rasuwa District, where the Bhote Koshi River has overflowed its banks.
Nepalese authorities have reported that they have been unable to contact a large group of foreign tourists who were in the area affected by the flash flood, the Nepal Tourism Board said.
"The preliminary list includes 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepalis, but information on their whereabouts and safety is currently being verified," the board said. At least 105 Indian citizens are among them.
According to Bashu Kumar Adhikari, managing director of a tourism company, the tourists were pilgrims travelling to China’s Mount Kailash, which is sacred in many Eastern religions. "With the exception of a few, we have not been able to establish contact with the pilgrims as of 3 p.m. [9:15 a.m. GMT]," Adhikari said.
Other Nepalese trekking companies said citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Malaysia may be in the disaster area.
The flash flood struck northern Nepal on Wednesday morning. Earlier reports said eight people had been killed and dozens were missing, while many homes and other infrastructure facilities had been destroyed. Rescue operations are underway.