95 die, 291 foreign tourists missing in Nepal’s flash floods

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Hundreds of tourists in Nepal, many of them foreigners, have gone missing in the Himalayan nation’s devastating flash floods on Wednesday, which have killed at least 95 people.

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Hours after the disaster tore through the border region with Tibet, some 403 visitors, including 341 foreign nationals, were still unaccounted for, according to the ministry of culture, tourism and civil aviation.

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In its second situation update posted on X, the Nepal Tourism Board gave a tally of 384 missing travellers, 291 of them non-Nepalis. Many of the foreign tourists’ nationalities were yet to be confirmed.

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Nestled in the Himalayas, Nepal is a milestone tourist destination for hikers and climbers from around the world, lured by the challenge of scaling some of the world’s highest peaks, Mount Everest among them.

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Here is the latest info on the missing:

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India

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According to the tourism board, 142 nationals from neighbouring India were missing.

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The missing Indians were in the country with three travel agencies: Samrat Tours & Travels, Leaf Holiday and Himalayan Glacier.

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Malaysia

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Seventeen Malaysians travelling with Fishtail Tours & Travels were missing in the floods, the board said.

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Malaysia’s foreign ministry however said its embassy in Kathmandu has received reports from travel agencies suggesting they had lost contact with 11 Malaysian nationals believed to be in the Rasuwa district.

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United Kingdom

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Twelve UK citizens with the Alpine Eco Trek agency were unaccounted for, the tourism board said.

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South Korea

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South Korea officials confirmed eight hydropower workers were out of contact in the Rasuwa district following the floods.

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South Africa

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Four South Africans travelling with the same Alpine Eco Trek agency as the missing British citizens were missing, according to the tourism board.

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United States

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Three US citizens, also with Fishtail Tours & Travels, were unaccounted for, the board said.

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Portugal

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A Portuguese woman was missing in the floods, the foreign ministry told AFP.

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“She was with a group at the border post on the Nepali side,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

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Australia

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One Australian with Kathmandu Holiday Tours & Travel was missing, according to the board.

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Netherlands

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A Dutch citizen travelling with the same company as the missing Australian was also unaccounted for, the board added.

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Italy

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The Italian foreign ministry said two Italian tourists and their guide were stranded upstream from a landslide but are receiving assistance.

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The ministry is aware of 90 Italian citizens currently in Nepal and Tibet, but does not know if any might have been affected.

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Nationalities unconfirmed

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Several of the tour groups also announced missing foreigners whose nationalities had not been confirmed.

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They included 77 with Trekkers Society, 26 with Kailash Journey and eight with Richa Tours & Travels.

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Nepal

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The Nepali tourism board also announced that, in addition to the unaccounted-for foreigners, a total of 93 Nepalis were missing.

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AFP

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