Nepal floods: 21 Indians rescued, around 200 stranded in China seek evacuation

As Nepal continues to grapple with a devastating flash flood from the Bhotekoshi River near the NepalChina border in Rasuwagadhi the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said 21 Indian nationals have been rescued from Nepal while around 200 Indians stranded on the Chinese side have sought assistance for evacuationMEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while briefing the media here said the 21 rescued Indian nationals are from Tamil Nadu and had travelled for the Kailash Mansarovar YatraAs of 1300 hours today we have been able to rescue 21 Indian nationals This group of 21 people are from Tamil Nadu Jaiswal saidHe added that the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is in touch with the rescued group and has assured them of all possible assistanceOur ambassador has spoken to people in the group and has assured all possible help They are coming to Kathmandu hopefully and then arrangements will be made for their travel back home as soon as possible he saidThe MEA has also received information about Indian nationals who undertook the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and are currently stranded on the Chinese side of the borderOur embassy in Beijing is making all efforts for their safe evacuation There are approximately 200 Indian nationals there who have sought our assistance for evacuation Jaiswal saidOf these 95 Indians are in Darchan and are currently proceeding towards Baisha to cross over into Nepal Four are in Geelong city while 13 are in Zutulpuk and are travelling towards the town of Saga according to the MEA spokespersonThe Ministry said it has established a 24x7 special control room in view of the prevailing flood situation in Nepal to coordinate assistance and facilitate communication with affected Indian nationalsThe control room can be contacted at 91 11 2308 8718 and 91 11 2308 8719 WhatsApp calls and messages can be made to 91 9968291988 while the email address is situationroommeagovinThe Embassy of India in Kathmandu has also issued emergency contact numbers 977 985 131 6807 977 970 910 7500 and 977 981 032 6117The MEA further said that 288 Indian nationals remain uncontactable in Nepal with communication networks in the affected areas severely disruptedJaiswal said the group includes 73 Indians working at the Trishuli 1 power project with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu in touch with the projects head to obtain further informationOther groups include 37 and 49 Tamil Nadu nationals who travelled for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Samrat and Fly Everest Travels 32 West Bengal nationals who travelled through Samrat Travels and were in Timure in Rasuwa district 61 Indians from different states who travelled through Richa Tours and 33 nationals from KeralaCommunication lines in that area are totally disrupted and therefore it has been difficult to get in touch with people on the ground Jaiswal saidNepals National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority NDRRMA in its search rescue and relief update issued up to 2 PM local time on Thursday reported 258 bodies recovered following the Bhotekoshi floodAccording to the update the casualties include 27 in Dhading 12 in Nuwakot two in Rasuwa 20 in Gorkha 62 in Nawalparasi East 12 in Tanahun 108 in Chitwan and 15 in Nawalparasi West in NepalNDRRMA reported 910 people missing or out of contact including 28 Nepal Police personnel 44 Nepal Army personnel 13 Armed Police Force personnel 15 Customs Office personnel and four Immigration Office personnelThe update also listed 161 people missing in Rasuwa based on information from the District Emergency Operation Centre DEOC and one person missing in NuwakotA total of 517 foreign citizens were reported missing or out of contact while 127 Nepali citizens living abroad who were visiting Nepal were also listedAuthorities further reported that 73 injured people including 43 in Rasuwa and three in Dhading with the casualty breakdown continuing beyond the portion of the update availableThe flash flood struck the Bhotekoshi area near Rasuwagadhi on the NepalChina border on Wednesday prompting largescale search rescue and relief operations as authorities work to locate those missing and assist stranded nationalsThe Indian government said its missions in Kathmandu and Beijing are coordinating with local authorities and continuing efforts to trace rescue and evacuate Indian citizens affected by the disasterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever