Nepal's death toll from last week's floods and mudslides has climbed to 903, with 4,247 people now listed as missing, according to the country's disaster management department. At least 85 of those missing are American citizens, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday.
The disaster was triggered by an ice-and-rock avalanche that buried several Himalayan villages along the Nepal-Tibet border. Debris from the resulting landslides has blocked nine hydropower tunnels in Nepal's Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, trapping 933 workers from Nepal, South Korea, and China. Videos released by the Nepali army show rescue personnel using drills and excavator machines in an effort to reach those trapped underground.
A top private-sector group in Nepal's power industry has publicly criticized the government's initial reluctance to accept international assistance. Bhim Gautam, chief executive officer of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, told NPR that Nepal does not have "enough technology, equipment and expertise" to mount successful rescue operations at hydropower projects. "Our expertise is only in dealing with small flooding. We have never faced a situation like this before," Gautam said.
Gautam said locating the tunnels themselves had been a major obstacle. The floods not only blocked tunnel entrances but made them difficult to find. "In some cases, the rescue workers spent three days only in finding these tunnels," he said.
He said industry leaders had to apply direct pressure on the government to open the door to outside help. "Late last week, the government approved rescue teams from China, India and Australia to come," Gautam said. "But it is so late now."
Nepal's finance minister had previously rejected reports that the country had turned down foreign assistance, saying help was accepted only "according to the needs on the ground." On Sunday, Prime Minister Balen Shah said in a Facebook post that the Nepali army and police, along with experts from India, China, and South Korea, were carrying out rescue operations at the hydropower tunnels.
China's casualty figures have also drawn scrutiny. China's foreign ministry denied on Monday that officials in Beijing had ignored early warning signs or downplayed casualty numbers on their side of the border. China's last official update, released Saturday through state news agency Xinhua, listed 16 people confirmed dead and 546 missing. The Chinese government said its release of information had been transparent and timely.
