Nepal floods: Death toll crosses 900 mark as 4,247 people remain out of contact

Kathmandu: The death toll from devastating floods in Nepal has crossed the 900 mark, as bodies recovered from riverbanks continue to pile up in several districts.

The number of bodies recovered has risen to 903, with the highest number of corpses,272, recovered in southern Chitwan district, where authorities have struggled to manage them, according to the latest update issued by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) on Monday.

The local authorities of Chitwan subsequently buried most of the recovered bodies at Devghat at the confluence of the Kali Gandaki and Trishuli rivers to prevent them from becoming a source of disease in the district.

Before burying them, authorities collected DNA samples from the bodies to facilitate their identification in the future, according to the District Administration Office, Chitwan.

The NDRRMA said many other unidentified bodies have been kept at 21 hospitals across different districts and urged relatives to check official records for identification.

According to the NDRRMA, as many as 4,247 people remain out of contact, including 592 foreigners. As many as 933 people working at various hydropower projects along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors also remain out of contact, as authorities continue efforts to rescue people trapped inside tunnels at various hydropower projects with assistance from Indian and Chinese technical teams.

Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel, as well as many other government employees, have also remained out of contact since the disaster struck areas along the Nepal-China border. The disaster has also left 267 people injured, with 156 being discharged already following the treatment.

According to the NDRRMA, a total of 10,451 people have been rescued so far, including 252 foreign nationals and 3,344 Nepalis rescued through aerial operations by the Nepal Army.

The authority said 20,819 security personnel have been mobilised for search, rescue and relief operations, including 8,722 Nepal Army personnel, 7,894 Nepal Police personnel and 4,203 Armed Police Force personnel.

IANS