The days pass and the scale of the disaster becomes clearer as the relief efforts slowly progress: the toll from the flood which devastated Nepal and China on Wednesday worsened further on Monday, reaching more than 900 dead and 4,700 missing.
“Our country is facing a natural disaster of unimaginable and heartbreaking magnitude,” said Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah, “but we are moving forward with determination to protect the lives of citizens.”
In perilous conditions and under the constant threat of further rising water levels, rescuers are redoubling their efforts to try to rescue possible survivors from the sea of mud which has buried this isolated region of the Himalayas.
Nepalese police have shared the story of the miraculous rescue of a 6-year-old girl on Friday. “We found her under the rubble (…) only her head was emerging,” one of her officers, Bahadur Karki, told AFP. “She is now out of danger and is recovering in a hospital surrounded by her family.”
Workers trapped in a tunnel
Despite their efforts, the Nepalese authorities were still unable to contact around a hundred workers on Monday who they believe were trapped in a tunnel on a construction site in the disaster-stricken region.
“Rescue and search operations continue at the Trishuli-3 site,” the Nepalese army reported in its latest situation update. Rescuers continue to “clear water and debris” from the tunnel, using explosives and excavation equipment.
Other operations are underway in tunnels in the same valley, on the site of hydroelectric power stations or dam construction. They made it possible to find the bodies of three victims, according to the army.
