By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – According to Nepali authoriies on Sunday the Nepal devastating flash floods death toll reached over 788 on Sunday and over 2,500 people still missing as saeach and rescue efforts in Nepal continued.
The updated Nepal Police data as of Sunday 3 PM, the highest number of fatalities were recorded in Chitwan with 264 deaths, followed by Nawalparasi East with 194, Nawalparasi West with 120, Gorkha with 58, Nuwakot with 52, Dhading with 50, Tanahun with 37, and Rasuwa with 13.
It noted that unidentified bodies are being kept at 21 hospitals across Nepal while authorities work on DNA identification process.
They said that 933 are workers are from regional hydropower projects. At least 592 foreign nationals, including Indians, are also missing.
Personnel from the Nepal Police, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Customs Office, and Immigration Office are also among the missing, the update stated.
Over 20,000 security personnel have been deployed, leading to 8,730 total rescues by ground forces.
Air crews have conducted 363 helicopter flights, airlifted 3,081 people, including 236 foreigners, and rescued 279 individuals directly from a flooded hydropower tunnel over recent days.
NDRRMA stated that the Government of Nepal has disbursed emergency cash support, including NPR 10 million each to Rasuwa and Nuwakot, NPR 5 million to Dhading, and NPR 67.5 million to 15 local governments.
The relief operations have dispatched 50 transport vehicles alongside eight helicopter flights carrying food, communication units, and emergency supplies to isolated communities such as Uttargaya and Dhunche.
Fuel reserves are also being actively managed to sustain continuous air and land operations.
Relief materials are being dispatched from Kathmandu to flood-affected areas, the Nepal officials stated.
The families and relatives of those missing in the floods continue to reach out to the morgue at Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine, where the bodies of victims are being brought.
The officials said that uncertainty also continues for the families of workers stranded deep inside the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project tunnel, as ongoing search and rescue efforts race against time.
Sher Bahadur Shahi, whose son is trapped in the tunnel, said, “My son is not among the rescued individuals. He is a mechanical engineer on the Trishuli 3A project. They are all trapped inside the tunnel. We haven’t been able to communicate with them. The government should have mobilized the necessary capacity and expertise for the rescue operation immediately. Even though the Nepal Army reached the tunnel site, they needed the right capabilities and technicians whether it is India or America, everyone is a brother and a neighbor; we are also grateful to the Indian government for the rescue operation.”
The Ministry of External Affairs stated that 4 Indian nationals trapped at a hydropower project in Rasuwa were rescued today as search and emergency operations intensify across Nepal following catastrophic flash flooding.
The rescued individuals, identified by the Ministry as Ripu Kumar, Chaneshwar Narzary, Kripa Shankar, and Mohammed Minhajuddin, are being transported to Kathmandu, media reported.
