Nepal seeks technical aid but says foreign rescue teams not needed
Nepal is seeking help with tunnel rescues, DNA testing, body storage and bridges after a Himalayan flood killed more than 600 people in Nepal and Tibet.
Nepal has requested foreign technical assistance in several specialist areas following a devastating flood along its border with China, but says its own teams can manage general search-and-rescue operations.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told Reuters that Nepal needed equipment and expertise for rescuing people possibly trapped in tunnels, restoring transport and communications, identifying bodies, conducting DNA tests and storing remains for longer periods.
A glacier collapse on Wednesday (August 26) sent a massive torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through Himalayan river systems, killing more than 600 people in Nepal and China’s Tibet region. More than 2,000 people remained unaccounted for.
The flood levelled entire towns near the Chinese border and caused extensive damage to hydropower plants, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
The Kathmandu Post reported that India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had offered to deploy search-and-rescue teams.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry earlier said the country could handle rescue operations on its own for the time being and declined broader foreign involvement. Khanal explained that Nepali rescuers were already carrying out general search-and-rescue work and that additional teams would duplicate those efforts.
Specialist equipment needed for tunnels and bridges
Nepal has asked neighbouring India and China to provide Bailey bridges to restore transport and communications in disaster-hit areas where about two dozen bridges were destroyed.
Officials have also received reports that some people may be trapped inside tunnels at hydroelectric plants. Khanal said Nepal lacked sufficient equipment and technical knowledge for complex tunnel-rescue operations.
Rescue officials said bodies swept downstream had been recovered in Chitwan and Nawalparasi, in the plains about 100 kilometres from the worst-hit area.
Khanal warned that more bodies were likely to be found there, while local hospitals were already overwhelmed and lacked sufficient refrigerated storage.
Nepalese officials said the country would also require international assistance with reconstruction and rehabilitation once the immediate emergency response was completed.
Source: Reuters
