On Monday, Nepal marked the final day of a 13‑day Hindu mourning period for those lost in a flash flood that swept through villages along the Nepal‑Tibet border. Flags were flown at half‑mast, while candlelight vigils were planned for the evening.
At least 1,287 people have died and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the National Emergency Operation Centre. Phanindra Paudel said no government programmes would be organised as rescue operations continue.
President Ram Chandra Paudel toured the devastated areas, and the home ministry ordered all government offices and foreign missions to fly the national flag at half mast.
Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet reported that search and rescue is proceeding at ground, air and tunnel levels, with a focus on hydropower tunnels where hundreds of workers are missing.
Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, advising Nepali teams, described the operation as “multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, each with its own dangers.”
Recent rescues include a 64‑year‑old woman pulled from a buried house in Nuwakot district and twelve bodies recovered from the Nepal‑Tibet border using excavators and radar. The death toll on the Tibetan side stands at 31, with 531 people unaccounted for.
Rescue efforts remain relentless as teams search for any survivors in the flooded valleys and hydropower tunnels.
