Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed 34 Australians are among hundreds of people missing after a massive flash flood and mudslide swept through Nepal’s Himalayan border region with China this morning.
More than 150 people have been killed in Nepal, while hundreds of tourists remain missing following the disaster.
Nepal’s tourism board says the missing include more than 100 people from India, 54 from the United States and 33 from the United Kingdom, as well as more than 100 Nepalese nationals.
The region is popular with pilgrims and trekkers, including those travelling as part of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India is ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal, with teams coordinating on rescue and relief operations.
In Tibet, Chinese state media reports three people have died and 265 are missing. CCTV footage shows a powerful wall of water and mud hitting buildings at a border crossing.
Dozens of Nepalese police officers and army personnel are also reported missing, along with workers involved in operations in the affected area.
Authorities initially believed an earthquake may have triggered the disaster, but the United States Geological Survey says the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide.
Rescue teams are continuing to search for those missing as authorities assess the scale of the destruction and provide assistance to affected communities.
Source: BBC
