Four Maltese citizens, all women, have been rescued by the Nepalese authorities following the catastrophic floods that struck the country earlier this week, according to figures released by the Nepal Tourism Board.
The Maltese Herald can confirm that all four Maltese citizens are women and are well above their forties. They are among the foreign tourists who were successfully located and rescued following the disaster.
The Nepal Tourism Board has so far confirmed the rescue of 184 foreign tourists, including 114 Indians, 27 Chinese nationals, 20 South Koreans, four Germans, four Maltese, three Italians and three Americans, together with nationals from several other countries. Another 420 tourists remain out of contact.
The tourist rescue operation forms part of a much larger emergency response. More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal as helicopters and ground teams continue searching devastated areas along the Nepal-Tibet border. Hundreds of people remain missing, while entire settlements, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been destroyed.
The floods were triggered on August 26 after a section of a Himalayan glacier collapsed and sent a massive torrent of ice, rock, mud and water through the river valleys below. The Rasuwa district and areas close to the Tibetan border were among the worst affected.
Many tourists were caught in the disaster because the affected Himalayan region is heavily visited by international trekkers and pilgrims. The Rasuwagadhi border crossing is also used by travellers heading towards Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the region.
The number of people confirmed dead has continued to rise while rescue teams search through mud, debris and destroyed buildings. Authorities have also warned that unstable terrain and newly formed bodies of water in the mountains could create further flooding risks and complicate rescue operations.
The four Maltese women are not believed to have suffered serious injuries.
Newsroom
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