Nepal’s government has reversed its decision to reject offers of assistance from foreign rescue forces within 12 hours, allowing foreign rescue teams and experts to operate in certain areas as search and rescue efforts continue following devastating flash floods.
The floods struck Nepal’s northern border region of Rasuwa and Tibet’s Gyirong County across the border on Wednesday, August 26, after a barrier lake on the Bhotekoshi River and its tributary, the Lhende River, burst. The lake had formed when the river’s flow was blocked by snow, rocks and other natural debris.
Millions of cubic meters of water, along with tons of mud, rocks and debris, swept through large areas on both sides of the border.
According to figures from Kathmandu and Beijing, 1,924 people have been reported missing in Nepal and another 558 in Tibet following the flash floods. Many were swept away by the floodwaters, while others are believed to have been buried beneath mud, rocks and debris.
Among those missing are Nepalese and Tibetans, as well as nearly 800 foreign nationals from 35 countries, including India, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
Following the disaster, several countries, including India, South Korea and Australia, offered to assist Nepal’s rescue forces. Kathmandu initially rejected the offers, saying its own rescue teams had sufficient expertise and capacity to conduct search and rescue operations and that foreign assistance was not necessary.
On Friday afternoon, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri told reporters that offers of assistance were understandable under the circumstances but maintained that Nepal’s rescue forces were capable of handling the operation.
“Such offers of assistance are very natural in such a situation. However, our rescue forces are conducting the operations efficiently. At this moment, we do not need assistance from foreign rescue teams,” he said.
However, only a few hours after Chhetri made the statement, a senior Nepalese Foreign Ministry official told *The Kathmandu Post* that the government had reversed its earlier decision.
The official said foreign rescue teams and experts would now be permitted to operate in selected areas of Nepal.
“We have faced considerable pressure from the international community to at least allow search and rescue teams and some experts to enter, as their citizens are also missing in the floods,” the official told *The Kathmandu Post*.
“We are allowing a limited number of experts to enter specific areas,” the official added.
