The U.S. State Department confirmed Tuesday that approximately 70 Americans remain unaccounted for in the Nepal-China border region following catastrophic flooding that began last month. The department has confirmed that 18 Americans have been located and are safe.
The latest figures represent a slight decrease from previous reports, which indicated around 75 Americans were missing. Officials have stated they are in close contact with the families of those unaccounted for and are committed to providing updates as more information becomes available. No American deaths have been confirmed.
Officials are advising Americans against traveling to the affected disaster zone due to the ongoing risk of flash floods and landslides.
Search Efforts Intensify
Nepalese authorities are concentrating their search operations on three hydropower project tunnels, where dozens of workers are believed to be trapped beneath debris. The flooding was triggered by a glacier collapse on August 26.
"Our search operation is focused on finding survivors, including in tunnels. Our bigger focus is on the Chilime hydroelectric project, where we believe people are trapped, because there was a canteen, residency and arrangements for food," Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of Nepal’s disaster authority, told Reuters.
The devastating floods have resulted in at least 1,399 confirmed deaths across Nepal and China's Tibet region, with more than 5,400 individuals still reported missing. Both governments have attributed the glacier collapse and subsequent flooding to climate change.
