Nepal holds national day of mourning for victims of flash flood disaster
Nepal observed a national day of mourning for the victims of the recent flash flood disaster, lighting candles to mark the last day of the traditional 13-day Hindu mourning period. While flags were flown at half mast, commemorations were scaled back as rescue teams continue their search for survivors. Candlelight vigils were planned for Monday evening.
At least 1,287 people are known to have died after a flash flood, believed to have been triggered by a glacial collapse, swept through villages in a Himalayan valley along the border between Nepal and Tibet. Almost two weeks later, more than 5,000 people are still missing.
Phanindra Paudel of the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) stated that there would be "no government programmes organised as the rescue and search operation is still going on in the flood-hit areas," per Reuters.
Nepal's president, Ram Chandra Paudel, toured devastated areas on Monday, according to a report from Reuters by an aide. The home ministry directed government offices and missions abroad to fly the national flag at half mast to mark the final day of mourning.
An army spokesperson, Raja Ram Basnet, assured that rescue efforts were ongoing with the same intensity as the first day, focusing on search and rescue operations on land, in the air, and within tunnels:
"We are making sure that no one is still stranded."
Among the few places where rescuers still hold out hope for finding survivors are the tunnels forming part of the region's hydropower stations, with hundreds of workers among the missing.
An Australian tunnel rescue expert, Arnold Dix, shared an update on X, highlighting the complexities and dangers of the ongoing operation:
"It means facing multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved."
Four people have been rescued in recent days, three at hydropower stations or tunnels. On Saturday, a 64-year-old Nepali woman was pulled alive from her buried house after more than 10 days, discovered by Nepal's Armed Police Force on the fourth floor of the building and airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.