More than 130 people trapped in Tibet after landslides block roads in Nepal
More than 130 people, including tourists, were trapped in China’s Tibet region after landslides in neighbouring Nepal blocked key roads.
The tourists were trapped in the remote mountainous town of Zhentang after heavy rains and flooding washed away sections of a provincial highway, China’s state media said.
Heavy rains have been triggering floods and landslides in Nepal for several days now, killing dozens of people and washing away roads and other key infrastructure.
Those trapped included migrant workers, businessmen on travel and tourists, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Rescuers were attempting to evacuate them on Wednesday.
The stranded people were earlier asked to hike up a mountain to relative safety. The hike left many of them with a “lack of physical strength”, CCTV reported.
The town, on the southern slope of the Himalayas near China’s border with Nepal, has an average altitude of 2,000 metres and is in an area known for hot springs and hiking.
Another 342 stranded people were relocated to nearby towns earlier.
Floods, landslides and lightning strikes have killed at least 50 people across Nepal since mid-June, when the annual monsoon rains started.
In the hill-ringed capital of Kathmandu, several rivers have overflown their banks, flooded roads and inundated homes.
Photos and videos from Kathmandu and other places showed people wading through waist-deep water and residents using buckets to empty their houses.
The adverse weather is expected to persist, with storms forecast throughout Thursday, adding another layer of difficulty to the rescue efforts.
CCTV reported that these conditions were likely to further complicate the ongoing rescue operations in Tibet.
Neighbouring India is also experiencing heavy rainfall across the country. At least 300mm worth of rain fell on Mumbai on Monday, submerging roads and delaying trains and disrupting flights.
Heavy rainfall also caused flooding in the capital Delhi earlier this month and collapsed the roof of a parking lot at the international airport, killing one person.
Severe rainfall has triggered flooding in the hilly northeastern parts of the country which had been battered by Cyclone Remal in May.
