About 70 Americans remain missing after disaster in Nepal

About 70 Americans remain unaccounted for after a disaster devastated Nepal’s border region with China, the US State Department said. Eighteen Americans have reached safety, while difficult terrain, destroyed infrastructure and thin air are hampering search-and-rescue operations

Washington: About 70 Americans remain unaccounted for in the Nepal-China border region after a disaster destroyed roads, bridges and entire villages, the US State Department said.

Eighteen Americans have reached safety, according to figures released by the department as of noon EDT on Thursday (US local time).

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“The safety of Americans in the affected area remains our highest priority,” a State Department spokesperson said. “Despite the significant operational challenges, we are using every available means to locate, account for and assist U.S. citizens and their families.”

The department’s team in Kathmandu has met all the families who travelled to Nepal, the spokesperson said. Consular officers in Washington are also maintaining regular contact with families in the United States.

“The conditions responders are operating in within Nepal are extraordinarily difficult,” the spokesperson said. “This disaster destroyed roads, bridges, entire villages, and, in some areas, completely altered the landscape – some previously inhabited places are covered by displaced soil and rocks several feet deep.”

Helicopter operations have also been hampered by the destruction. Pilots are flying through narrow valleys where roads, riverbanks and other familiar landmarks have disappeared.

Thin air at high altitude has made some missions extremely dangerous or impossible, according to the spokesperson.

The United States offered to assist with search-and-rescue work on the first day of the emergency, the department said. Nepal’s government initially declined the offer after determining that its own agencies could handle the operations, according to the spokesperson.

“The United States offered to support search-and-rescue operations on day one; however, the Nepali government declined our initial offer and determined that its own government could handle search-and-rescue operations,” the spokesperson said.

“Eventually, under international pressure, it let several foreign teams in to assist with specialised rescue in hydropower tunnels.”

The scale of the wider disaster remains enormous. About 5,100 people were still reported missing, the department said.

“This is a rapidly evolving operation, and we are working closely with our local partners on the ground to adapt to conditions as they change,” the spokesperson said.