TRISHULI, Nepal – Rescuers searched for survivors in the debris-strewn valleys and hillsides of Nepal on Thursday as more than 1,000 people were missing in the Himalayan country and neighboring China after a wall of ice, mud and rock collapsed into a mountain river, triggering a catastrophic flash flood.
Authorities in Nepal used helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands cut off in towns and valleys after Wednesday’s disaster swept a road thronged by trekkers and pilgrims that links Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet.
Local media put the death toll at 359, with dozens of bodies swept down into the plains from where they were being recovered. Nepal Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said the focus remained on finding survivors as rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region ?around Trishuli. ?
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