Glacier collapse near Bhotekoshi river triggers quake-like tremor; India sends 47.5 tonnes of relief as rescue teams pull 116 to safety
Kathmandu: A devastating flash flood triggered by a glacial landslide on the Nepal-Tibet border has killed at least 178 people 165 in Nepal and 3 in Tibet with more than 1,400 still unaccounted for, authorities said Thursday.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said over 300 of the 826 missing in Nepal are Indian nationals, while China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported more than 550 people missing in Tibet, including 260 foreign nationals.
The disaster struck Wednesday morning when a massive chunk of a glacier and rock broke off and crashed into the Lhende Khola, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi river that flows from China into Nepal. The impact was so forceful it registered as a 5.2-magnitude seismic event initially mistaken for an earthquake before the US Geological Survey clarified it was landslide-induced ground shaking.
Nepal’s army rescued 116 people, including 95 Nepalis and 21 Indians, from Timure in Rasuwa district Thursday, along with seven Nepalis trapped in a tunnel. President Ram Chandra Poudel has directed the government to deploy its full machinery for search and relief operations, and Prime Minister Balen Shah visited the affected Nuwakot region.
India dispatched a second relief consignment of 37.5 tonnes by air force aircraft, adding to an earlier 10-tonne shipment taking total aid to 47.5 tonnes. Authorities have issued flood alerts for Bihar’s Gandak basin districts, including West and East Champaran, Gopalganj, and Muzaffarpur, anticipating a roughly 3-metre flood wave.
China’s embassy in Nepal rejected accusations of withholding early warnings, calling the claims misleading.
About The Author
