Kathmandu, September 7: A total of 587 foreign tourists from 34 countries have gone missing after being caught in the Bhotekoshi flood in Rasuwa.
According to information provided by the Department of Tourism, 587 foreign tourists from 34 countries went missing after the flood struck the Bhotekoshi River on Bhadra 10. Department of Tourism Information Officer Suraj Ghimire said the missing tourists had traveled to Gosainkunda through various companies for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and the Janai Purnima festival.
Of the missing foreign tourists, 256 are men, 329 are women and two are listed as others. The largest number of missing foreign nationals are from neighboring India. According to the department, 184 Indian nationals are missing. In addition, 33 Australians, two Belarusians, 30 Canadians, one Finn, four French nationals, eight Germans, one Hungarian, two Irish nationals, one Israeli, one Lithuanian, 55 Malaysians and two Dutch nationals are missing.
Similarly, five New Zealanders, two Portuguese, eight Russians, nine Singaporeans, six South Africans, two Spaniards, 54 Ukrainians, 32 Britons, 67 Americans, five Japanese, one Filipino, three Kazakh nationals, two Belgians and one Swedish national are missing. Likewise, 33 Latvians, one Swiss national, two Italians, 26 Chinese nationals, one Vietnamese, one Estonian and two Polish tourists are missing. In addition, 188 Nepali tourists have gone missing in the flood.
According to the department, 161 of the missing Nepali nationals are men and 27 are women. Information Officer Ghimire said those missing include Nepalis who had traveled as support staff for foreign tourists, as well as Nepalis visiting Kailash Mansarovar and Gosainkunda.
The government has continued rescue operations despite the disaster. The department said 307 foreign tourists have so far been successfully rescued. Of those rescued, 254 are men and 53 are women.
Meanwhile, seven people who had been out of contact since the flood—two men, four women and one other—have since made contact.
The local administration and security agencies have intensified the search for those still missing as well as relief operations.
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