Nepal observes national day of mourning for victims of flash flood disaster

Nepalis observed a day of national mourning on Monday for those who perished in a flash flood disaster. Candlelight vigils were planned for the evening as flags were flown at half mast. However, commemorative events were scaled back as rescue teams continued their search for survivors. At least 1,287 people died when a flash flood, thought to be caused by a glacial collapse, inundated villages in a Himalayan valley bordering Nepal and Tibet.

Over 5,000 people remain missing, two weeks after the tragedy. The National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) reported that government programs would not be organized as rescue efforts are ongoing. Nepal's president paid a visit to the affected areas on Monday, according to a Reuters source. The home ministry instructed government offices and missions abroad to fly the national flag at half mast.

Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet informed Agence France-Presse that rescue efforts continued at the same pace as the first day, focusing on ground, aerial, and tunnel searches. Rescuers were still hopeful of finding survivors in tunnels associated with hydropower stations, where hundreds of workers are among the missing. Four rescues have been successful so far, including a 64-year-old Nepali woman who was found alive after being trapped for over ten days in her house in Nuwakot district.

In China, twelve bodies were recovered near the Nepal-Tibet border using excavators, shovels, and ground-penetrating radar. As of the latest reports, 5,083 people remain missing, with 531 unaccounted for on the Tibetan side.