The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, reported this Thursday that there are at least four Spaniards unaccounted for in the devastating floods caused by the strong flooding of the Bhotekoshi river in northern Nepal, near the border with Tibet, in China.
Albares has also stressed that there are no records of any Spanish deaths, but he has asked relatives and friends of citizens who know or have been in the disaster area to contact the emergency telephone numbers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both with the Consular Emergency Unit or the central services in Madrid.
In an audio sent to the media, the minister recalled that the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Nepal, the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi and the consulate general in Beijing “are fully mobilized to serve the Spaniards”, while highlighting that consular telephone numbers are available on their social networks or those of the Ministry.
Finally, Albares has conveyed his condolences and has sent his solidarity to the Nepalese Government and people.
At least 162 dead and 700 missing
More than 160 people have lost their lives due to floods in Nepal, caused by the strong flooding of the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa, a mountainous district in northern Nepal near the border with Tibet, in China, according to the country’s authorities.
The Nepal Police have confirmed that the dead bodies recovered by search and rescue services number at least 162, and are concentrated in seven districts, the majority of them, 64, in Chitwan, further south. All this in a context in which the situation has caused the interruption of communications in many areas of the country, making rescue efforts difficult.
To this, it is worth adding, according to this latest report released by the police force, that at least 41 injured people continue to be treated in various hospitals in the country.
For its part, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, citing the country’s tourism authorities, has estimated 579 travelers missing in the affected areas, of which 466 are foreigners and 113 of Nepalese origin.
Previously, the Nepal Tourism Board had indicated to local media that nearly 400 tourists, all of them pilgrims heading to Mount Kailash, in Tibet, were missing due to the impossibility of communicating as the floods continue.
