Nepal Rejects Foreign Rescue Teams After Deadly Floods

Nepal has rejected offers from several countries to deploy search and rescue teams following devastating floods that have killed hundreds of people and left more than 1,000 others missing.

The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, that Nepal’s security agencies were capable of handling the ongoing rescue operations and that foreign search and rescue assistance was not currently required.

“The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search and rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said.

Countries including India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had offered to send rescue personnel following the disaster, which struck areas near Nepal’s border with China’s Tibet region.

Nepal has instead asked countries seeking to assist to channel financial contributions through a single government relief fund, rather than sending their own search and rescue teams.

The decision comes as the scale of the disaster continues to grow.

Nepal’s authorities have reported at least 469 deaths, while more than 1,000 people remain missing following the catastrophic flash floods.

A large number of foreign nationals are among those missing. Nepal’s tourism authorities previously reported hundreds of foreign tourists unaccounted for after the floods swept through areas popular with pilgrims and tourists.

South Korea, which has reported nine of its nationals missing and 10 others stranded, said it was negotiating with Nepal over the deployment of a rescue team. Seoul has also pledged $1m in humanitarian assistance through international organisations.

The floods devastated parts of Rasuwa district near the Chinese border, destroying settlements, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure.

The disaster was triggered by a massive landslide and glacial collapse that sent water, mud and debris through valleys, causing widespread destruction on both sides of the Nepal-China border.

The rescue operation has also been complicated by the formation of a debris-dammed lake near the disaster zone.

Authorities have warned that the lake could overflow and trigger another wave of flooding, forcing some rescue teams to withdraw from dangerous areas.

Nepal’s government has continued to deploy its army and police to search for survivors and recover bodies as concern grows over those still missing.