At Least 150 Dead, Hundreds Missing in Landslide on Nepal-Tibet Border
By John Su/John Van Trieste
A landslide in the border area between Nepal and Tibet meet has left at least 150 people dead with hundreds more, many of them foreign tourists and pilgrims, still missing amid the devastation.
Nepal Landslide Disaster: Rescue Efforts and Aftermath
REPORTER:
Rescue workers escort a survivor to safety. One more person accounted for. Over 150 people are confirmed dead so far. Among the missing are nearly 500 tourists, many of them foreign; the area is home to a Hindu pilgrimage site popular at this time of year.
REPORTER:
In at least some places, it seems there was a short period of warning, but not enough for everyone as the wall of rock and mud swept down.
Binod Chitrakar (LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE):
Before the flood hit this area, the Nepal Police and myself had alerted the locals about it. Many locals could not take out their belongings, while a few managed to do so. While we were doing that, the flood came abruptly, and we were able to run away. But besides the elderly home, four to five people are dead, according to the information we have received.
REPORTER:
Amid the muddied remains of Nuwakot District, stunned survivors are left to process what they’ve witnessed.
Manoj Mishra (TEACHER):
I saw around nine trucks being swept away by the floods, including people. It’s a heartbreaking incident. I’ve been teaching here for 18 years and I’ve never seen anything like this here before.
REPORTER:
Help is on the way. Nepal’s armed police force and rescuers are still racing to help survivors.
REPORTER:
On the Chinese side of the border, where at least three people have died and nearly 300 are missing, state TV says President Xi Jinping has called for all-out rescue efforts.
REPORTER:
And aid from the United Nations, among others, is already on the ground.
Stéphane Dujarric (SPOKESPERSON FOR THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL):
Two staff from the World Health Organization are already on site with enough medical kits for about 10,000 people for three months, as well as tents and logistics support. Starting tomorrow, the World Food Program and UNICEF are also deploying staff and trucks carrying relief supplies.
REPORTER:
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which handles China policy, has also extended condolences to Beijing over the disaster. Records show 51 Taiwanese nationals currently in Tibet, where a hotline is open for citizens to report themselves safe.
REPORTER:
But across the border in Nepal, whole communities now have to find some way to recover from destruction that, in places, is nearly total.
Deepak Thapa Magar (WITNESS):
When it happened, this whole area was filled with water, and a weak-hearted person would not have been able to look at it. In the morning, we could not stand here. We were only allowed to look from about 20 meters away, as the police had not allowed us to come here. If you look down, it was all filled with coffee farms. It's all gone.
REPORTER:
And as families wait for news of missing loved ones, for some, there may be a reckoning with loss to come.
