Nepal resumes rescue ops after another flood scare

    The search for survivors is continuing after a brief pause due to the threat of a fresh deluge, with about 1,500 still missing

    Nepal and China briefly suspended rescue operations for those missing in Wednesday’s flash flood due to the threat of new onrush of water from a lake that formed on the upper reaches of the Bhote Koshi river.

    The lake broke its banks Friday morning and Nepal asked its rescue teams and residents to move to higher ground. Rescue operations resumed soon afterward when the authorities assessed that the risk of flooding was not as severe as initially thought. 

    CNN reported, citing a spokesperson for Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, that there is no risk of a massive deluge like before. “It is a small amount of water leaking from the dam down into the valley below.”

    Chinese officials said the risk of flooding had decreased as the water level in the lake had fallen by about 10 meters, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

    Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said that the death toll has reached 538 by Friday morning. Nearly 1,500 are still missing, including police personnel. More than 1,500 people have been rescued, Nepalese police posted online.

    More than 13,000 army and police personnel are engaged in the search and rescue effort in Nepal. 

    Helicopter rescue missions, which have successfully pulled to safety hundreds of people stranded in the mud and buildings in the last 48 hours, also resumed after the pause.

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