1,468 Missing, 362 Dead in Nepal-Tibet Floods...Bodies Found

[Financial News] The death toll and number of missing people from the floods and landslides that struck the border area between Nepal and China on the 26th continue to climb. The combined death toll has reached at least 362, while the number of missing stands at 1,468.
According to foreign media outlets including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Nepal police had counted 359 deaths from the floods and landslides as of the 27th. The number of missing was put at 910. Of those, 517 were foreigners. At least 73 people were also confirmed injured.
Earlier, around 8:37 a.m. on the 26th, a massive flood hit areas of Bagmati Province in north-central Nepal near the border with China. The flood also triggered large-scale landslides on the Chinese side. According to Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV) on the 27th, 558 people were missing as of 8 a.m. that day after a landslide struck Gyirong County in Xigaze, Tibet Autonomous Region, the previous day. Among the missing, 260 were foreigners.
According to Nepalese authorities, the bodies of 100 Indian tourists and 25 Chinese workers who went missing near the Trishuli River in Bagmati Province were found one after another on the 27th. Abhi Narayan Kaple, a Nepal police spokesperson, said, "We resumed the search today, and we expect to recover more bodies," adding, "The death toll will also continue to rise." He added that "445 people, including 27 foreigners, have been rescued in the past few hours."
The missing foreigners are believed to be from about 30 countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Italy, and Ukraine. On the 27th, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said 288 Indian nationals were missing in Nepal and another 200 were stranded in Tibet.
The U.S. government said 90 of its nationals were missing after the Nepal floods. China also said about 100 of its citizens were missing in Nepal, but they were not yet included in the Nepalese government's official missing-person count. Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, said, "Nearly 100 Chinese nationals are missing in the affected areas of Nepal," adding that "the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Nepal is conducting further confirmation with the Nepalese side."
In addition, nine South Koreans from Korea South-East Power and Doosan Enerbility, who were working on a hydropower plant project in Nepal, remain out of contact. Of the 10 other South Koreans from Doosan Enerbility who were believed to be stranded locally, nine were moved to a safe area on the day. The remaining one, the site manager from Doosan Enerbility, stayed behind, along with two Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal staff members, including a consul and an administrative officer.
A government joint rapid response team made up of officials from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Police Agency, and the National Fire Agency (NFA) departed from Incheon International Airport and arrived in Kathmandu on the day.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 80 bridges and a 40-kilometer road had been damaged, and that 85 people, including 28 police officers and 57 soldiers, were missing. It added that about 17,200 people are currently taking part in rescue operations and that roughly 1,470 people have been rescued so far.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on the 26th that a magnitude 4.4 earthquake in Tibet had caused the floods and landslides, but later clarified in an additional statement that no earthquake had occurred. It also estimated that a large collapse of glaciers and rocks generated earthquake-like shocks, and that the subsequent collapse of glaciers and debris flows swept downstream, causing the major flooding.

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