- PM Shah says rescue teams and military dispatched.
- Govt urges people along rivers to exercise caution.
- Nepali official fears heavy casualties, property losses.
KATHMANDU: The death toll from the flash flood that struck the Himalayan border region of Nepal and China’s Tibet on Wednesday has risen to 95, said police.
A massive flash flood in the Himalayan nation of Nepal washed away villages and project sites in a region bordering Tibet, authorities said, warning of heavy casualties as they urged those living on river banks to seek higher ground.
Tourism Ministry said 341 foreign nationals were missing following devastating floods in the region.
The areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous district of Rasuwa were severely affected, government officials said, while calling for extra vigilance by residents along the Bhote Koshi river.
“We have reports of villages and infrastructure project sites being washed away,” district administrator Narendra Pariyar told Reuters, adding that no immediate estimates of casualties or property losses were available.
“There could be heavy casualties or loss of property,” he said. “But I cannot say for sure now.”
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said rescue and relief teams, as well as police and the military had been dispatched to help in the aid effort.
“Instructions have been given … to move the people living in the lower areas to safer places,” he said.
“People along the river are advised to exercise extra caution and remain alert,” the government said in its statement.
The Bhote Koshi river originates in Tibet and empties into Nepal’s Trishuli river that eventually flows into India as the Gandak river.
That flood was triggered by the draining of a supraglacial lake in Tibet, a regional climate monitor said.
