Nepal has reversed its decision to reject foreign assistance in ongoing search-and-rescue operations after coming under pressure from the international community, allowing foreign rescue teams and experts to work in selected areas affected by the devastating flash floods.
The government announced the change less than 12 hours after it had turned down offers from several countries to assist Nepal’s rescue efforts.
The flash floods struck northern Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, August 26, after a barrier lake formed along the Bhotekoshi River and its tributary, the Lehandi River, reportedly burst. Millions of cubic metres of water, along with huge amounts of mud, rocks and debris, swept across large areas of Rasuwa district in Nepal and Gyirong County in Tibet.
According to figures from Kathmandu and Beijing, 1,924 people are missing in Nepal and another 558 are missing in Tibet following the disaster. Among those missing are nearly 800 foreign nationals from around 35 countries, including India, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
Following the floods, several countries, including India, South Korea and Australia, offered to send rescue personnel to assist Nepal. Kathmandu initially rejected the offers, saying its own rescue agencies had sufficient expertise and capacity to conduct search-and-rescue operations.
On Friday afternoon, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said international offers of assistance were understandable but insisted that Nepal’s rescue agencies were handling the operation effectively.
“Such offers of assistance are very normal in such a situation. However, our rescue agencies are conducting the rescue operations efficiently. At this moment, we do not need assistance from foreign rescue teams,” he said.
However, only a few hours later, a senior official at Nepal’s Foreign Ministry told The Kathmandu Post that the government had changed its position and would allow foreign rescue teams and specialists to enter certain areas.
The official said Nepal had faced significant pressure from the international community to allow at least search-and-rescue teams and specialists into the affected areas, particularly because citizens of several foreign countries were among those missing.
“We are allowing a limited number of specialists to enter specific areas,” the official told The Kathmandu Post.
The decision is expected to enable international teams with specialised search-and-rescue expertise to support Nepalese authorities in locating missing people and responding to the aftermath of one of the region’s worst recent flash-flood disasters.
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