New Delhi, August 28: As many as 320 Indians are missing or not contactable amid the devastating flash floods in Nepal, while around 400 Indians are safe in China and efforts are underway for their evacuation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.
According to the latest MEA update, 84 Indians have been rescued, including 21 from Tamil Nadu who returned to India on Friday and 63 people working at the Trishuli-I project. Another 149 Indians crossed over safely into Nepal from China on Friday. Around 400 Indians who remain in China are safe, with the Indian Embassy in touch with them and working on their evacuation.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government is also preparing a “tunnel rescue team” for deployment to Nepal following a request from Kathmandu. “A Reece team is being flown first to assess the equipment required. A medical team is also being prepared to be sent,” Jaiswal said.
India has also offered Bailey bridges along with technical teams to help restore connectivity in flood-affected parts of Nepal. Jaiswal said one Bailey bridge is already in Nepal and can be deployed for relief efforts. He added that the government is arranging the return of rescued Indians and has also offered to dispatch National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams to Nepal.
India has announced that a third relief flight carrying around 13 tonnes of relief material will fly to Nepal on Friday evening. Across the three relief flights, India has sent around 60 tonnes of relief material to Nepal since Wednesday evening.
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