More Than 110 Rescued a Week After Nepal’s Deadly Floods, Army Says
Nepal’s army says 119 people were rescued by air operations on Tuesday, nearly a week after devastating flash floods swept through parts of the country. The rescue included 118 Nepalese citizens and one British national, according to the army.
The latest operation came as rescuers continued to reach isolated communities cut off by destroyed roads, bridges and heavy deposits of mud and debris. The terrain has made ground searches particularly difficult, forcing authorities to rely heavily on helicopters and other air resources.
The disaster has become one of Nepal’s worst recent natural catastrophes. The floods and associated landslides have killed more than 1,000 people, while thousands remain unaccounted for. Reuters reported that the death toll had reached about 1,050, with roughly 4,000 people still missing.
The catastrophe began after a major glacier-related collapse in the Himalayas unleashed an enormous surge of water and debris into downstream valleys. Communities along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems were particularly badly affected, with homes, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure suffering extensive destruction.
Nepal has mobilised more than 22,000 security personnel for the wider rescue effort, while at least 16 helicopters have been deployed. Officials said more than 11,000 people had already been rescued from flood-hit areas by Tuesday.
A major focus has shifted toward hydropower projects, where hundreds of workers are feared to remain trapped inside tunnels filled with mud and debris. Indian and Chinese technical teams have joined Nepali rescuers, while specialised equipment and drones are being used to search areas that are too dangerous for conventional rescue teams.
The rescue effort has also exposed difficulties in maintaining accurate records of survivors. The British man initially reported by the Nepali Army as one of those rescued later identified himself as Alastair Chambers, a humanitarian worker who had travelled to the affected region to assist victims. He said he had not been rescued and had instead returned from an aid mission.
Despite the continuing rescues, the scale of the missing-persons crisis remains enormous. Authorities are still searching remote valleys and damaged hydropower sites, while families await information about relatives whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The Nepalese government says its immediate priorities remain finding missing people, rescuing survivors and delivering emergency relief. The country has also begun facing the longer-term challenge of restoring critical infrastructure and supporting communities devastated by the floods.
