Nepal Rejects Foreign Rescue Teams; 65 Americans Missing

Nepal's government has refused offers of foreign search-and-rescue teams after flash floods along its border with China killed more than 600 people, telling other countries to send money instead of manpower.

Rescue crews entered a fourth day of searching on Saturday. France 24 and CNN reported the death toll had passed 600, with 633 bodies recovered and nearly 3,000 people still missing across Nepal and China's Tibet region.

Americans are among the missing. Citing Nepal Police, the Kathmandu Post reported that 65 Americans were unaccounted for, along with 178 Indians, 53 Ukrainians, 51 Malaysians, 35 Australians, 33 Britons and 25 Canadians.

The Refusal

Nepal's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri said the country did not need outside rescuers. "The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search-and-rescue operation. For now we don't require such help," Chhetri told Reuters.

Nepal's foreign minister told Reuters on Saturday that the country needs help in technical areas, not search and rescue.

According to the Kathmandu Post, officials from India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had all asked permission to send teams. The newspaper reported the decision was shaped by Nepal's experience after the 2015 earthquake, when an influx of foreign rescue teams and competition among countries caused significant coordination and management problems. That 7.8-magnitude quake killed more than 8,800 people and caused roughly $7 billion in damage, according to a United Nations report.

South Korea is not taking no for an answer. Reuters reported Seoul is "negotiating" with Kathmandu. South Korea's Chosun Ilbo reported that a Korean rapid response team is stuck at Kathmandu airport seeking permission to fly civilian helicopters it rented locally. "The rapid response team is in the process of requesting cooperation from Nepalese authorities to obtain permission to operate helicopters," a South Korean Foreign Ministry source told the newspaper. "We are continuing our efforts." Nepali authorities have cited the risk of further flooding.

On the Ground

Basnet said rescuers believe more than 100 people are trapped in a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal's Rasuwa district, buried under four to five feet of thick mud. Crews have used baskets and ropes to reach some people, he said, but few sites are flat enough for helicopters to land, and teams have had to pull back temporarily when authorities warned of more flooding.

On the Chinese side, rescuers reached the badly damaged Gyirong border crossing on foot, by raft and by being lowered from drones, according to footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV. "Anyone, anyone?" rescuers were heard shouting. It is not known how many people were inside the border checkpoint building when the floods hit.

Many of the missing foreigners were in the area to work, trek or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.