Death toll from Nepal-China border floods rises to 98
Sudden floods on the Nepal-China border have killed at least 98 people, with hundreds more, including many tourists, reported missing. Authorities have asked India and China for rescue assistance.
Powerful flash floods that struck the border area between Nepal and China on Wednesday have killed at least 98 people, according to the Associated Press. Hundreds of others, including numerous foreign tourists, remain missing.
Nepal's prime minister's office confirmed 95 deaths and said 403 people were missing, 341 of them foreign nationals. Sunil Sharma, a spokesperson for Nepal's tourism authority, said the missing include 133 Indian citizens who were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, 47 Americans, 34 Australians, 33 Britons and 24 Canadians.
At least 62 Nepali citizens are also among the missing, having been among hundreds of local residents hiking in the area around Gosaikunda Lake. A Nepal police spokesperson said at least 28 law enforcement officers were unaccounted for.
China's state broadcaster CCTV reported that a landslide in Gyirong county in the Tibet Autonomous Region, near the border, killed at least three people, with 265 more missing.
Residents warned to stay away from rivers
Nepali authorities urged residents in several districts to stay far from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers. Officials said the Bhotekoshi river burst its banks around 9 a.m. Wednesday, destroying several villages, roads and hydropower stations.
Nepal's government has appealed to India and China for help with rescue operations. The US Geological Survey also reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake that struck Wednesday morning about 100 kilometers north of Kathmandu, near the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Latvia's Foreign Ministry is checking whether any Latvian citizens are among those missing in Nepal.
