ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is dispatching emergency relief assistance to Nepal, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday, after catastrophic flash floods and landslides killed more than 500 people and left hundreds missing in the Himalayan country.
Sharif announced the assistance after speaking by telephone with his Nepali counterpart Balendra Shah, as rescue teams raced to find survivors and authorities remained on alert for further flooding from a newly formed lake following a glacier collapse that triggered Wednesday’s disaster.
“Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with the Government and people of Nepal in this difficult hour,” Sharif said in a post on X. “I assured Prime Minister Shah of our full support and conveyed that Pakistan is dispatching emergency relief assistance to contribute to the ongoing relief efforts.”
Nepali police put the death toll from the disaster at 547 on Friday, while the country’s disaster management authority reported 538 deaths. More than 3,700 people had been rescued, but 977 remained unaccounted for in Nepal, according to AP.
Five people were also killed in neighboring China, where state media had earlier reported 558 people missing, bringing the number of people unaccounted for across the two countries to more than 1,500.
Sharif said he had conveyed his “heartfelt condolences over the tragic loss of precious lives and widespread devastation caused by the recent flash floods and landslides” during his conversation with Shah.
Rescue operations continued across Nepal on Friday, with helicopters airlifting stranded people and emergency workers searching through thick layers of mud and debris.
Authorities warned of further flooding from a barrier lake formed high in the Himalayas after the initial disaster. The lake was already overflowing, while Nepali police issued a fresh alert on Friday after receiving information that a dam on the Tibet side had burst.
Scientists studying satellite images said bedrock beneath a glacier high in the Himalayan region collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The resulting rockfall and meltwater swelled rivers in valleys below, sending torrents of water, mud and debris through communities in Tibet and Nepal.
More than 500 foreigners were among those reported missing in Nepal, according to the country’s tourism board, with some believed to have been on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and followers of other faiths.
Sharif said Pakistan would stand with Nepal as it dealt with the aftermath of the disaster.
-With input from AP
