Number of missing in Nepal and Tibet rises to 3,000 as bad weather hampers search
www.theguardian.com
Nepal requests foreign ⁠help in identification and storing of bodies, DNA testing and rescuing people from tunnels

A Chinese rescue team has reached the all-but-obliterated Gyirong border crossing complex for the first time and found “nothing but ruins” as Nepal and China continue their arduous rescue operations in the flood-hit Himalayas.

Surveillance camera footage from the worst-hit Gyirong border crossing complex showed huge torrents of water and debris on Wednesday engulfing buildings and people trying to flee. Only ⁠on Friday were rescuers able to reach the area.

State media reported that the Chinese team of 21 rescuers and a search-and-rescue dog crossed mountains and valleys and used ropes to navigate forests and cliffs after roads to the complex, hemmed in by steep Himalayan slopes, were destroyed.

…

More than 90,000 people have been affected by the disaster, the Red Cross estimated.

    • thallamabond@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      29 days ago

      They do have helecopters, but the mountains surrounding the area are too high elevation for them to be useful.

      In high-altitude areas above 4,500 meters, where air is thin, weight restrictions allow only 2–3 people per trip. This means only 1–2 patients, along with a small medical or rescue team, can be transported at once.

      Also they don’t have many of them

      Thus, the number of deployable helicopters during disasters is limited. Even during a national emergency, the total mobilized helicopters—civilian and military—rarely exceed 10–15 units.

      https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/08/29/TUPOB2WOQZGQREQIEO7T2XBCKI/