Nepal Flood News Today Live Updates: 46 workers may be alive inside hydropower tunnel, rescue efforts intensify

An agonising wait turned into sheer desperation for families in Maharashtra's Thane as 10 local pilgrims remained completely untraceable a week after ferocious flash floods devastated the Nepal-China border, severing communication lines and wiping out entire transit checkpoints.

While two tourists returned home safely, the remaining 10 pilgrims, who were on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, remain untraceable after floodwaters struck near the Timure Chinese immigration checkpoint on August 26, destroying local communication infrastructure.

Only Prakash Shantaram Mane and his wife Pratibha from Dombivli in the district have returned home safely so far.

Distraught relatives of the missing persons have appealed to authorities for urgent intervention as a week-long communication blackout persists across the affected border areas. PTI

The recent catastrophic flash floods in Nepal is directly linked to decades of an engineering mindset which assumed that rivers and mountains could be re-engineered at will, environmentalist Sunita Narain said on Wednesday.

Narain, the director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based think tank, said hydroelectric plants are being built back to back in the Himalayas and "what you are seeing today is the revenge of nature." She was speaking at the inaugural session of the eighth International Conference on Sustainability Education, organised by the NGO Mobius Foundation.

According to CSE analysis of the India Meteorological Department data, she said, an extreme weather event occurs in India roughly once a day.

"Nature is telling us that the way we have been doing development clearly is not going to work in future," she said. PTI

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday said the devastation caused by the Bhotekoshi River floods was due to climate change and the responsibility to "manage and minimise" its effects also rests on the global community.

Flash floods, triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, entered Rasuwa through the Bhotekoshi River and devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal on August 26.

Over 1,100 people have been killed and over 4,800 remain missing in the floods.

Briefing the House of Representatives about the devastation caused by the floods, Shah said, "This incident shows the increasing risk the people of the mountain region have to bear with the occurrence of climate change." "There is a global contribution behind climate change. And the responsibility to manage and minimise its effects also rests on the global community," the prime minister pointed out.

Shah said, "In this hour of crisis, we have accepted the reality that the country's leadership must provide courage, support and reassurance, not tears." Shah said that the disaster has not only devastated the three districts -- Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading -- but it "is a shared blow to the heart of the entire country." "We have no alternative but to fight with determination and courage, and we are fighting," the prime minister said.

Speaking about the international assistance, Shah said, "There is no question about not accepting international assistance at this magnitude of crisis, and we have coordinated with the international community to receive support and assistance since the beginning." A section of the media earlier reported that Nepal had denied international assistance; however, the government later denied refusing international help. PTI

Tourists previously reported missing in Nepal have made contact with authorities, officials said Wednesday, as families of locals still unaccounted for after last week's catastrophic floods held symbolic funerals for their loved ones.Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said 324 foreign nationals have been rescued, while another 590 from 39 countries remain missing following the Aug. 26 floods that killed at least 1,118 people and left more than 3,900 missing.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that the number of Australians missing in the disaster had fallen from 43 to 38 after five were confirmed safe overnight.“Amidst all of this tragedy, we are seeing some positive news. AP

Bihar Dairy, Animal Resources and Fisheries Minister Nand Kishor Ram on Wednesday urged people to avoid consuming "unfamiliar" fish that have entered the state with floodwaters from Nepal as it could cause illness.

Reports suggested the presence of unfamiliar fish species in certain areas of Bihar that have come along with floodwaters flowing in from Nepal. The consumption of such fish has allegedly caused stomachache, diarrhoea and vomiting among some people.

"I appeal to people to avoid eating fish flowing in from Nepal through rivers such as Gandak... These are visibly distinct in their appearance. These fish are known to cause stomachache, vomiting and breathing difficulties. Consumption of such fish may also lead to infections. It is better not to eat them," Ram said.

He also urged fishermen not to catch and sell such fish. PTI

There is a high chance that dozens of workers may be found alive after a week ⁠trapped ​in an underground chamber at Nepal's Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant following ​deadly flash ​floods, a ⁠Nepal Electricity Authority official said on ‌Wednesday.

"In Rasuwagadhi, we think 46 people are trapped in a room-like structure in the ⁠tunnel," ⁠Amhsu Kiran Shahi, a board member ⁠of ‌the ​Nepal Electricity Authority, ‌told Reuters.

"We are very confident ‌that they ​must ​be ​alive after one week because ... ​they have food ⁠and water over there in the building." Reuters