Families Hold Symbolic Funerals As Nepal Flood Death Toll Hits 1,252, Over 4,200 Missing

ISLAMABAD, Sept 3 (NNN-Anadolu) -- Families in flood-hit areas of Nepal are holding symbolic funerals for missing loved ones as the death toll from last week's flash floods rose to 1,252, with more than 4,200 people missing, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing official data on Thursday.

In neighbouring China, 21 people were killed and 541 remained missing, including 261 foreigners, according to local authorities.

The combined death toll from both countries stood at 1,273, while 4,757 people remained missing, including 844 foreign nationals.

In Rasuwa, one of Nepal's hardest-hit districts, families created funeral effigies using kaas-kush, or sacred grass, and performed final rites to "liberate the souls" of missing relatives after losing hope of finding their bodies, the Kathmandu Post reported.

On Wednesday, dozens of such effigies were cremated in a mass funeral at Pashupati Aryaghat temple in Kathmandu on the banks of the Bagmati River.

In Chitwan, another badly affected district, authorities buried unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples because the number of remains made individual identification and storage difficult.

Many flood victims have been left without places to observe mourning rituals after floodwaters swept away both family members and homes in several districts.

Those who lost everything and travelled to Kathmandu seeking shelter have also been unable to find space at public facilities for the rituals.

Military personnel, police and others continued search and rescue operations in flood-hit areas on Thursday.

Rescuers, however, faced difficulties as roads, power supplies and communications remained disrupted across wide areas.

They were also working to deliver relief supplies and maintain hygiene in shelters to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

The disaster struck on Aug 26 when a glacier on Nepal's Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 metres (17,060 feet), triggering an ice-rock avalanche that developed into a massive debris flow and swept through valleys along the border.

Floodwaters and mudslides devastated Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre districts, as well as the Kathmandu Valley, while also burying the Gyirong border crossing in China’s southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet.

-- NNN-BERNAMA-ANADOLU