Nepal flash floods: Six people from Assam feared missing, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati: Six people from Assam are feared missing in Nepal, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday, as rescue operations continued following flash floods in the country.
Speaking to the media, Sarma said the government had received information about six people from Assam who could not be contacted. He said officials were verifying the information to confirm the number.
The chief minister also said attempts were being made to contact Assam residents who had travelled to Nepal and determine what had happened to them.
The disaster followed a glacier collapse and an ice-rock avalanche in the Himalayan region, triggering flash floods and mudslides.
The Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river areas were among those badly hit, with roads, bridges and power infrastructure destroyed or damaged and thousands of people still missing.
Two of the Assam residents reported missing are Rituparna Brahma, 24, and Mantri Basumatary, 28. Both are from Doydak village in the Langhin area of Karbi Anglong and had gone to Nepal about two weeks earlier for work. They were employed at a hydropower project near the Trishuli River.
Their families have not been able to reach them since the disaster. Their mobile phones are reportedly turned off.
Shatadal Nath, 28, from Hindu Block village in Doboka, Hojai, is also among the Assam residents reported missing. He was working in Nepal and had gone back to his accommodation after a night shift when the disaster occurred.
Someshwar Narzary, 37, another resident of Karbi Anglong who worked with Rituparna and Mantri, survived the disaster. He was also able to contact his family.
Authorities are yet to complete the verification of the number of people missing, including foreign nationals, and many of those being sought are Indian nationals.
The Assam government has opened helplines for relatives seeking information about people from the state who are missing or stranded in Nepal. Assistance is being coordinated through Assam House in New Delhi.
Search teams and helicopters are being used to reach badly affected areas and look for missing people and survivors.