New Delhi, Aug 28: As rescue and relief operations continue in flood-hit Nepal, 320 Indian nationals remain “uncontactable” while around 100 persons of Indian origin are also yet to be reached out to, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday, underlining that the figures remain fluid as authorities work to reconcile multiple lists of missing people.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, speaking at a press briefing here, said the ministry was working continuously to establish contact with Indians affected by the flash flood and coordinate their evacuation.
Giving an update on the situation, Jaiswal said 21 Indian nationals who had arrived in Kathmandu from the flood-affected area had reached Delhi today, adding that India’s Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava had met the group in Kathmandu and enquired about their well-being.
“First, good news: 21 Indian nationals who had yesterday arrived in Kathmandu from the area which was affected by the flood have landed in Delhi,” Jaiswal said.
Jaiswal also reiterated that 63 Indian nationals working at the Trishuli One hydropower project had been rescued on Thursday, while 96 more Indian nationals who remained stranded on the Chinese side safely entered Nepal by land, with efforts now underway to evacuate them.
“In addition to these 21 and 63, we have learnt that 96 Indian nationals who were stranded on the Chinese side have safely crossed into Nepal by land, and efforts are underway to have them evacuated,” the MEA spokesperson said.
He said the ministry would share further details about the 96 people once their particulars had been confirmed.
On the number of Indians who remain missing or cannot currently be contacted, Jaiswal put the figure at 320, while cautioning that the situation remained dynamic.
“As far as the number of people whom we are not able to contact or who are missing, the figure at this point in time is 320. But please do keep in mind that we are in a dynamic situation, so figures keep going up and down. Also, we have to reconcile several lists that we are dealing with,” he said.
The MEA also said that around 100 persons of Indian origin remain uncontactable. According to Jaiswal, these are people of Indian origin who travelled for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra but hold nationalities other than Indian.
“There are also around 100 persons of Indian origin who remain uncontactable. They are people of Indian origin who went for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra but hold different nationalities,” he said.
The ministry’s control group in New Delhi is working around the clock, Jaiswal said, alongside control groups at the Indian embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing.
The latest Indian government update comes as Nepal continues to deal with the aftermath of a catastrophic flash flood that struck the Bhotekoshi River area of Rasuwa district on August 26.
According to the latest update attributed to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), 538 bodies have been recovered, and 977 people remain missing following the disaster.
At least 73 people have been injured, while thousands of security personnel have been deployed for search and rescue operations.
The flood sent a powerful surge of water, sediment and boulders through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems, causing widespread destruction and leaving large numbers of people stranded or unaccounted for.
The Indian and Nepalese authorities continue to coordinate rescue, relief and evacuation efforts as teams work to establish contact with those still missing and assist people stranded in affected areas.
Earlier in the day, EAM S Jaishankar said he discussed the relief and rescue operations in Nepal with the Indian embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said the embassies had provided an update on the status and well-being of Indian nationals, while the concerned divisions of India’s Ministry of External Affairs briefed him on further relief supplies to be sent to Nepal.
“We give highest priority to this issue,” Jaishankar said in his post.–(ANI)
