Iran offers condolences to Nepal as floods death toll hits 552

Iran has offered its condolences to Nepal over the devastating flash floods hitting the country, killing at least 552 people as hundreds remain missing.

Hundreds of people have been killed and many more are missing after severe flooding and landslides in areas of the country on Wednesday created a tsunami-like wall of water gouging a path through the border region between Nepal and Tibet, sweeping away entire villages.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed condolences to the government and people of Nepal following the deaths and injuries caused by the extreme weather conditions linked to global warming by scientists.

Pezeshkian, in a message to his Nepalese counterpart Ram Chandra Paudel, conveyed sympathy on behalf of himself and the Iranian nation for the loss of lives and injuries among local residents and tourists.

The Iranian president said the news caused deep sorrow. He expressed sympathy particularly to the bereaved and affected families and wished a speedy recovery for those injured in the incident.

Pezeshkian declared Iran’s readiness to provide humanitarian assistance within its capabilities to help Nepal cope with the disaster. He prayed for the deceased, hoping the Nepalese nation will overcome the disaster with strength and resilience.

In a similar move, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei expressed sympathy with the government and people of Nepal.

Baghaei extended condolences to the families of those who were killed or have gone missing in the disaster and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Nepal on Friday requested financial aid from the international community to help better manage the crisis.

On Thursday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society expressed condolences to the families of victims of the devastating floods and offered to dispatch relief and medical teams to the flood-hit areas.

According to the latest figures, 1,500 people are missing and at least 552 have been killed in the disaster.

Red Cross announced on Friday that an estimated 93,000 people may have been affected by the disaster and that the death toll will continue to rise.

Chinese state media reported that rescuers had reached the main area wiped out by the devastating mudslide in Tibet.

"At approximately 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) on 28 August, six members of the first response team from the Fire and Rescue Corps of Tibet and 15 members and one dog from the first response team of the Fire and Rescue Corps of Sichuan arrived at the border area... They are the first professional teams to reach the core rescue site," Xinhua news agency reported.

"Due to roads and bridges having been washed out and both cell coverage and electricity cuts, we have not yet been able to access some of the hardest-hit areas," said David Fisher, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies head of delegation for Nepal. "The trauma of this event is enormous."

Meanwhile, the Nepali army said it located people trapped in the tunnel of Trishuli 3A hydropower project, where they were working to bring out survivors.

"Two helicopters have been dispatched but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel," army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP.

Some 350 workers and residents have been brought to safety from the site, he added, but more than 100 people remain trapped in the same area.

Elsewhere, Indian authorities said they had recovered seven bodies believed to be flood victims flowing in from rivers originating in Nepal.

Scientists link the Nepal disaster to global warming, which is melting glaciers in the region and triggering landslides and flooding.

Glaciers across the globe have lost 5 percent of their ice in the past 2.5 decades, with much more drastic impacts in certain regions.

In Nepal, the glaciers lost nearly a quarter of their area between 1970 and 2010. More than 160 smaller glaciers in the country, research has found, have vanished entirely.

Forty percent of all glacial ice worldwide could disappear if global warming is not kept under 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to climate experts.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir