5 Japanese Nationals Missing after Flash Floods in Nepal

New Delhi, Aug. 27 (Jiji Press)–More than 1,400 people, including five Japanese tourists, are unaccounted for following deadly flash floods in the Rasuwa district of Nepal on Wednesday, authorities in the Himalayan country said Thursday. People whose whereabouts cannot be confirmed include 644 tourists, 517 of whom are foreigners, the Nepali tourism authority said. The death toll from the flash floods has reached at least 289, according to the police. A community located along the Bhote Koshi River, which flows from China to Nepal, was devastated by the disaster, with bridges and multiple hydropower plants sustaining damage. The Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, said that it is working to confirm the safety of Japanese nationals in the wake of the disaster while asking Nepali authorities to search for the five Japanese whose whereabouts are unknown. Heavy damage has been confirmed as well in Shigatse in Tibet, which borders Nepal. China Central Television reported Thursday morning that three people died and 558 others, including 260 foreigners, remain unaccounted for. It is unclear whether there is any overlap between the casualty figures from the Nepali authorities and the Chinese broadcaster. There has been no report of any Japanese people in China being involved in the disaster, according to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. Many of the people whose whereabouts have not been confirmed are believed to have joined pilgrimage tours to religious sites in Tibet. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday called on anyone with information about the whereabouts of the five Japanese nationals who cannot be reached to contact the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu. “I’m praying so that the precious lives of Japanese nationals, citizens of Nepal and foreign visitors to the country will be protected,” she said in a social media post. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday that the Japanese nationals who have been unaccounted for participated in a tour in Nepal, adding that no Japanese casualties have been confirmed in China. The Japanese government set up a local response headquarters and a separate response office at the Foreign Ministry. The government is also preparing to dispatch personnel from its Emergency Response Team. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]