Nepal police say death toll from 'massive flood' rises to 157... "Glacier collapse appears to be the cause"

[Financial News]  

The death toll from Nepal's 'massive flood' has risen to 157.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on the 26th (local time), citing a statement from Nepal police, that 157 bodies had been recovered so far. The toll jumped by 57 in a matter of moments, shortly after the number of confirmed deaths had reached 100.
Nepal police said multiple teams are now conducting search and rescue operations in the flood-hit areas, while also delivering relief supplies and counting the dead. They added that police dog teams and four drones are helping with the search and rescue efforts.
According to police, 28 officers are also missing in Rasuwa District.
As opinions remain divided over the cause of the flood, Nepalese officials said the sudden surge in water levels may have been triggered by falling ice.
There is still no clear answer as to why water levels suddenly rose in the Himalayas, but analysts say a glacier collapse triggered by an earthquake in the remote Tibet Autonomous Region, which is believed to be the source of the flood, may have set off the disaster.
Officials at the Nepal Meteorological Department said satellite image analysis showed huge blocks of ice, believed to be part of a glacier, breaking away from the Himalayan side of Tibet. They said this may have caused the flood. As the ice came down, dragging rocks and other debris with it, the water level may have risen rapidly.
Some Nepalese researchers staying in China said they had heard the same explanation from Chinese experts. However, the state-run Xinhua News Agency referred to the disaster as a 'Nepal landslide' in a post on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, contact has been lost with nine South Koreans in the area, while another 10 were once stranded but are now believed to be safe.


[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter