Nepal Flash Floods: India, US, China and which other countries have the most citizens missing
Nepal flash floods and landslides have left at least 2,478 people missing and at least 586 dead along the Nepal-Tibet border. Indian, American, Australian, Chinese and other foreign nationals are among those unaccounted for. Rescue teams are searc...
By ET Online | Updated:
Reuters
Nepal flash floods leave thousands missing, including tourists and foreign nationals
Nearly 2,500 people remained missing on Saturday after devastating flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border, with the confirmed death toll reaching 586.
The figures are still changing as rescue teams search through damaged towns, roads and other areas cut off by the disaster.
Nepal's disaster agency said 1,924 people were missing on its side of the border, while 579 people had been confirmed dead. In Tibet, Chinese authorities reported 554 people missing and seven deaths, taking the combined number of missing people to 2,478.
The sharp rise in the missing figure in Nepal reflects updated information collected by authorities as rescue and recovery work continues.
Nepal's disaster agency said 517 foreign nationals were still missing in the country. Chinese officials had separately reported 260 foreigners missing in Tibet.
That puts the number of foreign nationals unaccounted for across the affected region at at least 777.
The Nepal Tourism Board said 622 tourists were still "out of communication", including 473 foreign tourists. It also said 121 tourists had been rescued.
The total number of people rescued, including local residents and foreign workers, was not immediately clear.
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Nepal
The Nepal Tourism Board said 149 Nepali tourists were among the 622 people it listed as missing. Nepal's disaster agency gave a lower figure of 127.
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The number of local residents who remain unaccounted for is also unclear, although officials believe it runs into the hundreds.
China
China's foreign ministry said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were missing in Nepal.
The Nepal Tourism Board separately listed eight Chinese nationals as missing and said 16 had been rescued.
On the Tibetan side of the border, Chinese state media reported 554 people missing and seven dead.
India
The Nepal Tourism Board said 98 Indian nationals were missing and 85 had been rescued.
United States
The US State Department said 90 US citizens were missing on Thursday. It said three had been rescued and that it was not aware of any US deaths.
The Nepal Tourism Board later listed 65 US citizens as missing and two as rescued.
Ukraine
The Nepal Tourism Board said 61 Ukrainians were missing.
Ukraine's embassy in Nepal said it had lost contact with 62 of its citizens, six more than in its earlier update.
Malaysia
The Nepal Tourism Board said 51 Malaysians were missing.
Australia
"Unfortunately the number has risen to 41 overnight, Australians that are unaccounted for," Matt Thistlethwaite, assistant immigration minister said on Saturday.
United Kingdom
The Nepal Tourism Board said 33 UK nationals were missing.
Latvia
Twenty-nine Latvians were listed as missing by the Nepal Tourism Board.
Canada
The Nepal Tourism Board said 25 Canadians were missing. Canada's foreign ministry put the number at 30 across Nepal and Tibet.
South Korea
The Nepal Tourism Board said nine South Korean tourists were missing.
South Korea's foreign ministry said it had not received news from nine hydropower workers.
Singapore
Nine Singaporeans were listed as unaccounted for by the Nepal Tourism Board.
Germany
Eight German citizens were reported missing by the Nepal Tourism Board.
Russia
Nine Russians were missing and two had been rescued, according to the Nepal Tourism Board.
Other nationalities
The Nepal Tourism Board reported the following numbers of missing people:
South Africa: 6
Japan: 5
New Zealand: 5
France: 4
Spain: 3
Belgium: 2, with one rescued
Hungary: 3, although the Nepal Tourism Board listed one
Portugal: 3, with two found safe, while the Nepal Tourism Board listed one
Netherlands: 2
Italy: 3 according to the Italian foreign ministry; the Nepal Tourism Board listed one missing and two rescued
Ireland: 2
Kazakhstan: 3
Belarus: 1
Finland: 1
Israel: 1
Lithuania: 1
Philippines: 1
Serbia: 1
Switzerland: 1, with one rescued
Sweden: 1
Vietnam: 1
The figures differ in some cases because governments and Nepalese authorities have been issuing separate updates as they establish contact with their citizens.
China's figure for foreigners missing on its side of the border has not been broken down by nationality.
The nationalities of some foreign workers missing in Nepal are also not known.
The disaster has made rescue operations difficult, with damaged roads, debris and difficult mountain terrain slowing efforts to reach affected areas. The situation is also fluid, meaning the number of people listed as missing could rise or fall as authorities identify survivors and recover bodies. (With AFP inputs)
