Nepal rescue mission intensifies

from HAOYU ZHANG in Beijing, China
Special Correspondent
BEIJING, (CAJ News) – NEPAL is racing to find survivors after a catastrophic flood and landslide disaster that has killed 1,341 people, left about 5,000 missing and seen 13,104 people rescued, according to the latest figures released by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

More than 600 of those still unaccounted for are foreign nationals from 35 countries.

The disaster began on 26 August when a massive collapse of ice, rock and debris in the Himalayan region unleashed a devastating surge through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river valleys, affecting communities and hydropower projects along the Nepal-China border.

What has transformed the crisis into a national catastrophe is the sheer scale of destruction.

About 7,570 homes have been affected, while 55 kilometres of roads, 37 motorable bridges and 68 suspension bridges have been damaged.

Thirteen hydropower projects, a solar plant and two transmission lines have also been hit, affecting an estimated 783 megawatts of electricity-generating capacity.

Rescue teams are now concentrating heavily on hydropower tunnels, where workers were trapped beneath enormous quantities of mud and debris.

Four people have been pulled alive from the wreckage in recent days, including Nepali and Chinese nationals, offering renewed hope that others could still survive in air pockets underground.

Nepal’s response has become increasingly international.

Specialised tunnel-rescue teams from India, China and South Korea are working alongside the Nepal Army, while Malaysia has deployed an 11-member disaster-assistance team equipped with high-capacity drones.

The international effort extends beyond search and rescue.

The European Union has delivered 82 tonnes of emergency supplies covering health, nutrition, water, sanitation, shelter and protection, while Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia and Norway are providing emergency equipment.

The EU has also channelled additional funding through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The Nepal Red Cross Society, supported by the IFRC, is distributing clean water, shelter, first aid and emergency supplies and has launched a CHF25 million emergency appeal.

Other assistance is coming from the United States, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Singapore and numerous other countries, alongside the United Nations, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Humanitarian organisations including Direct Relief, Dhulikhel Hospital and Mountain Heart Nepal are providing medical teams, medicines and emergency supplies to communities cut off by destroyed roads and bridges.

The disaster has transformed Nepal’s immediate priority from rescue to a vast recovery challenge, while raising urgent questions about climate change, glacial instability and the resilience of Himalayan infrastructure.

– CAJ News