More than two dozen people were missing after torrential rain in China’s Tibet region triggered a deluge in the Bhote Koshi River, washing away the “Friendship Bridge” that links China and Nepal, officials said yesterday.
Weather forecasting experts said the flood might have been the result of an overflowing glacial lake in Tibet since there had been no heavy rainfall in the immediate catchment area of the river in the preceding 24 hours.
At least 18 people are missing in Nepal, while Xinhua news agency said that 11 people were unaccounted for on the Chinese side of the mountainous border region.
Photo: EPA / Nepalese Army
In Nepal, the missing included six Chinese workers and three police personnel, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on social media.
It added that eight electric cars were also washed away and a small hydroelectric plant was damaged in the flood.
Trade between Nepal and China was disrupted because of the bridge’s destruction, officials said.
The missing Chinese nationals were working at the Inland Container Depot being constructed with Chinese assistance about 80km north of the capital, Kathmandu, said Arjun Paudel, a senior administrative official of Rasuwa District.
“The river also swept away some containers with goods imported from China... There is a big loss [of property] and we are collecting details,” he said.
The Nepalese army rescued 11 people and search-and-rescue operations were continuing, spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said.
China has been increasing its investment in Nepal in domains including roads, power plants and hospitals.
The Asian giant has been battered by heavy rain and flash floods over the past few days that have left a trail of destruction, and is bracing for a tropical storm this week.
Nepal’s weather forecasting department is working with Sentinel Asia — an international initiative that uses space-based technology to support disaster management in the Asia-Pacific region — to determine the cause of the flooding.
“We have made an emergency observation request to the Sentinel Asia ... for the satellite data to ascertain the possible causes of the flood and its impact,” it said.
In Pakistan, at least 79 people, including 38 children, have died in floods and rain-related incidents, including landslides and house collapses, since June 26, the Pakistani National Disaster Management Authority said yesterday.
The authority issued fresh alerts for flash flooding and glacial lake outbursts in the northern and northwestern provinces of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citing “a significant rise in temperatures and ... an upcoming weather system.”
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