Guwahati, Aug 30 (PTI) At least eight people from Assam have been rescued from Nepal, which was struck by a devastating flash flood on August 26, and are being brought back to the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The state government is coordinating with the authorities concerned to trace other missing people for bringing them back safely to Assam, he said in a social media post on Saturday.
“I just spoke to eight people from Assam, who have been safely rescued in Nepal,” Sarma said.
The rescued persons — Pankaj Verma, Samar Bezbaruah, Gautam Das, Gopal Debnath, Soneswar Narzary, Sarbison Marak, Silva Marak and Elphison Sangma — are safe and will return home on Sunday, he added.
“Efforts are continuing to trace the others and ensure their safe return at the earliest,” the CM said.
On Saturday, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that 10 people from Assam were reported missing in Nepal since devastating flash floods struck the Himalayan country.
However, the several names Sarma mentioned as safely rescued in his social media post were not on the list of missing people shared by ASDMA.
As per the ASDMA list, the missing persons were Dr Dipali Sarkar, Pankaj Neog, Manash Kumar Ghosh, Rhituporno Brahma, Montri Basumatary, Someswar Narzary, Arun Nath, Dr Tirtha Chaliha, Rahul Daimary and Shatadal Nath.
Among the missing, three each are from Kamrup Metropolitan and Karbi Anglong, two from Nalbari, and one each from Golaghat and Hojai districts.
Earlier, the ASDMA had reported that 12 people from the state were missing in the Nepal floods. Later, it said that the family members of two persons from Nalbari have confirmed that they are safe.
The death toll from flash floods in central Nepal rose to 734 on Sunday, with more bodies being recovered even as nearly 2,500 people are still missing, including 85 security personnel and 320 foreigners, following the disaster.
The flash floods on Wednesday began after an ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse blocked the flow of the Lhende tributary of the Bhote Koshi River, with the resulting surge hitting Timure near Nepal’s border with Tibet and causing widespread destruction downstream.
The torrent of water, mud and debris wiped out towns and villages, damaged crucial infrastructure and washed away hydropower stations throughout central Nepal. PTI TR TR ACD
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