Kathmandu, Sep 5: The death toll from last week’s devastating floods in Nepal has crossed 1,300, as piles of dead bodies collected in different districts continue to pile up.

According to the latest data released by the Nepal Police, as many as 1,344 bodies swept away by the Bhote Koshi River had been recovered as of 8 a.m. Saturday.

The death toll could rise further, as 4,886 people, including 606 foreigners, remain out of contact following the floods that swept all before it, causing huge damage to lives and property of people across the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridor in central Nepal.

A large number of those out of contact are believed to be trapped inside tunnels of 11 hydropower projects along the two river corridors as rescue efforts are underway.

On Friday, two people were rescued alive from the tunnel of the 60MW Upper Trishuli 3A project in Rasuwa district.

The Nepali government said that rescue efforts are underway to find people still out of contact, while authorities are working on body recovery, identification, and relief operations as well.

Security agencies have intensified search and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas. So far, police say 8,962 people have been rescued, including 1552 foreigners.

Authorities are also stepping up efforts to identify the recovered bodies. DNA samples have been collected from 1,260 deceased people and 1,012 relatives of the deceased, bringing the total number of samples collected to 2,272, according to the police.

Nepal Police has deployed 7,912 personnel for search, rescue and relief operations. Sixty-five police personnel have themselves been affected by the disaster, while 25 remain out of contact.

The floods have also caused extensive damage to physical infrastructure and private property along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems.

Nepal has sought international support for the restoration process of the affected areas once the phases of rescue and relief are over.

Rome, Sep 4: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his wishes on her government becoming the longest-serving in the history of the Italian Republic and said that the ties between the two nations are right now stronger than ever before.

The Italian PM expressed confidence that India and Italy will continue to strengthen the bond between the two continents and work together to develop the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

Meloni’s response came after PM Modi congratulated her on becoming the longest-serving Prime Minister in Italy’s postwar history.

“Thank you, dear Narendra Modi, for your words and for your friendship. The relationship between Italy and India is today stronger than ever. The Special Strategic Partnership that we launched during our last meeting is the recognition of the importance of this bond and of the will to unite the expertise of our Nations to create new opportunities for growth, seizing the extraordinary opportunities for collaboration that we have before us,” Meloni posted on X while replying to PM Modi.

“I am certain that Italy and India, together, will continue to strengthen the bond between our Continents as well, working side by side also to develop the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” she added.

Earlier in the day, while extending wishes to Meloni, PM Modi said that the milestone reflected the trust and confidence of people of Italy in her leadership and wished her continued success in the years ahead.

PM Modi appreciated Meloni’s efforts in strengthening the Special Strategic Partnership between the two nations. He expressed readiness to continue close cooperation to build a prosperous future for the people of the two nations.

“Congratulations to my friend Prime Minister Meloni on becoming the longest continuously serving Prime Minister in Italy’s postwar history. This milestone is a reflection of the trust and confidence of the Italian people in her leadership,” PM Modi posted on X.

“Her friendship has also been instrumental in strengthening the India-Italy Special Strategic Partnership and I look forward to continuing our close cooperation to build a prosperous future for the people of our countries. My best wishes for her continued success in the years ahead,” he added.

Notably, Meloni-led government became the longest-serving government in the postwar history of the Italian Republic, after surpassing the tenure of former PM Silvio Berlusconi.

Meloni assumed office as Italy’s first woman Prime Minister on October 22, 2022, and her government on Friday completed 1,413 days in office.

Earlier in July, Meloni had congratulated PM Modi on becoming India’s longest-serving elected PM and expressed readiness to work with him in creating new opportunities for the people of the two nations.

In May, PM Modi made a two-day official visit to Italy, where he held talks with both Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.

During their meeting, PM Modi and Meloni decided to elevate bilateral ties to the level of a Special Strategic Partnership. The two leaders welcomed the “strong momentum” of high-level exchanges and agreed to hold annual meetings of leaders, including on the sidelines of multilateral events, as well as regular ministerial and institutional-level meetings.

Washington, Sep 4: Families of Americans missing after devastating floods in Nepal have appealed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for an expanded rescue operation, asking Washington to provide helicopters, drones, satellite imagery and search teams to help locate their relatives. Those listed include people from the United States, Australia, Canada, Britain, Singapore, France and South Africa. Many of the names in the list are of Indian origin.

The families said the US State Department had told them that 90 Americans remained unaccounted for and five had been rescued after flash floods swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa district on August 26.

Many of the missing were travelling to or from Mount Kailash, the sacred pilgrimage site in Tibet, along a route through Nepal that crosses the Chinese border at Gyirong.

“We are Americans, and we are asking our government to rescue our family members now,” the families said in an August 29 letter to Rubio.

The letter was signed by relatives and friends of 57 missing people — 31 Americans and 26 people of other nationalities.

The families said their relatives had been travelling with pilgrims, guides and workers from India and several other countries when floods struck the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli valleys.

The families thanked the US Embassy in Kathmandu and Nepali soldiers and pilots involved in rescue operations but said the scale of the American response was inadequate.

“We do not doubt the good faith of the people working on this,” they wrote.

“We are telling you that the urgency of the response has not matched what 90 missing Americans require.”

The families asked Washington to formally offer Nepal US military helicopters capable of operating at high altitude, together with crews, fuel and ground support.

They also sought drones equipped with thermal and infrared cameras, technology to detect people trapped beneath debris, equipment to locate mobile phones and temporary cellular coverage over the affected valley.

Another request calls for US satellite surveillance of the corridor from Rasuwagadhi to Trishuli Bazar and Devighat, including radar imagery capable of seeing through cloud cover.

The families asked the United States to move an urban search-and-rescue team to Kathmandu so it could be deployed immediately if Nepal accepted the assistance.

They also sought greater consular support, including a liaison for each affected family, US consular officers at hospitals receiving survivors and officers closer to the rescue operation in Rasuwa.

Some missing travellers were last known to be on the Gyirong side of the Nepal-China border, according to the letter.

The families therefore asked Washington to seek consular access and information from China and coordinate rescue efforts with other governments.

“Coordinate with Australia, the United Kingdom, India, and Singapore, whose people were in the same tour groups as our relatives,” the letter said.

The American citizens listed as missing include residents of Illinois, Virginia, Texas, New York, New Jersey, California, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Tennessee and Ohio.