Destroyed roads, buried villages and treacherous terrain are hampering efforts to locate missing US citizens….reports Asian Lite News Desk
About 70 Americans remain unaccounted for in Nepal’s border region with China after a disaster devastated roads, bridges and entire villages, severely hampering search-and-rescue efforts, the US State Department said.
According to figures released by the department as of noon EDT on Thursday, 18 Americans had been located and reached safety.
“The safety of Americans in the affected area remains our highest priority,” a State Department spokesperson said, adding that officials were using “every available means” to locate, account for and assist US citizens and their families.
The State Department’s team in Kathmandu has met with all families who travelled to Nepal, while consular officers in Washington are maintaining regular contact with relatives in the US.
Officials said rescue operations have been complicated by the unprecedented scale of destruction. Roads, bridges and entire villages have been wiped out, while in some areas the landscape has been dramatically altered, with previously inhabited locations buried beneath several feet of displaced soil and rocks.
Helicopter operations have also faced serious challenges. Pilots have been forced to navigate narrow valleys where roads, riverbanks and other familiar landmarks have disappeared.
High-altitude conditions have added to the risks, with thin air making some helicopter missions extremely dangerous or impossible, the spokesperson said.
The US offered assistance with search-and-rescue operations on the first day of the emergency. However, Nepal’s government initially declined the offer, saying its own agencies were capable of managing the response.
“Eventually, under international pressure, it let several foreign teams in to assist with specialised rescue in hydropower tunnels,” the spokesperson said.
The disaster has left thousands of people unaccounted for across the affected region. Around 5,100 people were still reported missing, according to the State Department.
“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.
US officials said they would continue efforts to locate missing Americans and provide assistance to affected families as rescue operations continue.
