Bhotekoshi flood death toll surpasses 1,000 with 3,916 still missing

KATHMANDU: The death toll from the devastating Bhotekoshi flood has reached 1,050.

According to the National Disaster Rick Reducation and Management Authority (NDRRMA), rescue workers have recovered 1,050 bodies or human body parts from eight districts. Data show 321 bodies have been recovered in Chitwan, 216 in Nawalparasi East, 170 in Nawalparasi West, 142 in Nuwakot, 65 in Gorkha , 57 in Dhading, 41 in Rasuwa and 38 in Tanahun.

Similarly, 3,916 individuals have gone out of contact after the flood. The missing include 25 Nepal Police personnel, 45 Nepali Army personnel and 13 Armed Police Force personnel. Similarly, 15 employees from the customs, and three each from Lantang National Park, quarantine office and immigration office have also gone out of contact following the August 26 disaster.

As many as 639 employees of different hydropower companies, 583 foreign tourists and 164 Nepali guides or support staff are also missing.

According to NDRRMA, 1,558 missing reports have been registered in District Emergency Operation Center (DEOC), Nuwakot and 865 in DEOC Rasuwa.

More than 11,000, including 273 foreigners, have been successfully rescued from flood-hit areas.

Officials say preliminary studies suggest the flood was triggered by an ice-rock avalanche from the northern slopes of Mt Langtang Lirung.