320 Indian Nationals Remain Out of Contact After Nepal Floods; 400 in China Safe, MEA Says
New Delhi — About 320 Indian nationals remain out of contact following the devastating floods in Nepal, while roughly 400 Indians stranded on the Chinese side of the affected region are safe, the Ministry of External Affairs said Friday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 84 Indian nationals have been rescued so far, including 63 people working at the Trishuli-1 hydropower project. Another 96 Indians who had been stranded in China have safely crossed into Nepal by land.
“First good news, 21 Indian nationals who had yesterday arrived in Kathmandu from the area that was affected by this flood, they have today landed in Delhi,” Jaiswal said at a press briefing in New Delhi.
He said the 21 evacuees, all from Tamil Nadu, returned to India on an IndiGo flight after arriving in Kathmandu from the flood-hit region. India’s ambassador to Nepal met the group in Kathmandu on Thursday to check on their condition.
Jaiswal said the 63 Indian nationals working at the Trishuli-1 hydropower project had also been rescued Thursday.
“In addition to these 21 and 63, we have learnt that 96 Indian nationals who were stranded on the Chinese side have safely crossed into Nepal by land and efforts are underway to have them evacuated,” he said.
The MEA said about 100 people of Indian origin who hold foreign citizenship also remain out of contact. Some of them are believed to have traveled to the region for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
“As far as the number of people who we are not able to contact or who are missing, the figure at this point in time is 320,” Jaiswal said. “But, please do keep in mind that we are in a dynamic situation, so figures keep going up and down.”
He said officials were working to reconcile several lists of people who may have been in the affected region.
“There are also around 100 persons of Indian-origin who remain uncontactable,” Jaiswal said. “So, these are people of Indian origin who may have gone for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, but they hold other nationalities.”
Control rooms at the MEA in New Delhi and at Indian embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing are operating around the clock, he said.
Meanwhile, about 400 Indian nationals remain on the Chinese side of the region, but authorities have confirmed that they are safe and have been able to communicate with their families.
“Our Embassy has been in touch with several of them, in fact, with their team leaders and their travel agent,” Jaiswal said.
The Indian Embassy in Beijing is coordinating with Chinese authorities to arrange their evacuation.
“Our Embassy is in touch with local authorities in China and they are working out as to how these people who are there can be evacuated,” Jaiswal said, adding that the group was safe.
The floods are believed to have been triggered by an avalanche affecting a transboundary river between China and Nepal upstream of the Bhote Koshi River.
Floodwaters caused widespread destruction downstream, sweeping away settlements and damaging roads, hydropower projects, transmission infrastructure and other facilities.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said Friday that the death toll in the Bhotekoshi region had risen to 538, with hundreds of people still missing. (Source: IANS)
