Kathmandu : The death toll in the devastating flash flood that struck Rasuwa on Tuesday morning has reached 11. Prior to this, nine bodies were recovered and additional two bodies were retrieved from the lower belt of Trishuli River, according to Central Police Spokesperson DIG Binod Ghimire.
To date, 862 people who include those trapped in the flooding and left stranded mid-way due to the traffic obstructions after the disaster have been evacuated. They have been escorted to safety.
Among the 11 recovered bodies, only one has been identified. Several of the bodies were found in a maimed condition. According to an update from the Police Headquarters in Naxal, Kathmandu, 19 people are still missing. Among three police persons who were earlier reported missing, the body of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Lal Bahadur Shrestha has been recovered. The lifeless bodies are currently kept at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.
Over 1300 security personnel have been mobilised to undertake the rescue works. The search for the missing ones is on, the police said. The flash flood in the Lhende Stream along the Nepal-China border in Rasuwagadhi swept away the Miteri Bridge, the two-country bridge, on the border, damaging the Customs Office at Rasuwagadhi.
The road toward Timure from Dhunche has been massively damaged by the flood that swept away 24 containers, six trucks and 42 electric vehicles. According to the preliminary finding of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, an outburst of a supraglacial lake that lies along the upper catchment of the Lhende stream caused the flash flood.
