KATHMANDU — Nepal opened its borders to limited foreign search-and-rescue assistance on Friday, ending a short-lived policy that had barred international teams despite a soaring death toll and hundreds of foreign nationals still missing after a catastrophic glacial outburst flood.
The government approved specialist personnel from India, China, Australia, and South Korea to assist in three narrowly defined areas: extracting workers trapped in damaged hydropower tunnels, conducting DNA analysis, and supporting forensic identification of victims. The decision came after intense diplomatic pressure from countries with citizens unaccounted for in the disaster zone.
A Brief Refusal Under Scrutiny
Earlier Friday, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated that domestic security forces were sufficient to manage rescue operations and that foreign teams were unnecessary.
“For now we don’t require such help,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri told reporters, adding that international support should instead be directed to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
That position lasted less than a day. Senior officials acknowledged that mounting concern from embassies — particularly over missing workers at hydropower sites and tourists in the Bhotekoshi valley — forced a reassessment. An inter-ministerial coordination committee, acting on an evaluation by the National Disaster Management Centre, authorized the limited entry of foreign specialists hours after the initial refusal.
Requests from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh were not approved under the current framework.
Disaster Scale and Operational Challenges
The flood was triggered on Wednesday, August 26, when a section of glacier near Gyirong on the Tibet–Nepal border collapsed, unleashing a debris-laden surge down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems. The deluge swept away villages, roads, and at least 14 hydropower projects under construction.
As of Friday evening, Nepali authorities confirmed 579 deaths and 1,924 people missing in Nepal. Chinese state media reported 554 additional individuals unaccounted for on the Tibet side.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by thick mud, destroyed infrastructure, and unstable terrain. More than 100 workers remain trapped inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant, a project involving South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power. Nepali teams have struggled to reach the site with heavy equipment, prompting calls for specialized tunnel-rescue expertise.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said international forensic capacity was critical given the number of bodies recovered. “We need to conduct DNA tests on a large number of samples,” he said.
Foreign Nationals Among the Missing
Nepal’s foreign ministry reported that at least 511 foreign nationals remained unaccounted for as of Friday. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was seeking 56 Ukrainian citizens in the affected area, revising an earlier figure of 64 after verifying travel records.
South Korea has deployed locally leased helicopters to search for nine of its nationals — six from Doosan Enerbility and three from Korea South-East Power — though access remains limited. Australia announced a $5 million assistance package, while South Korea pledged $1 million in humanitarian aid.
The reversal on foreign rescue teams marks a pragmatic shift for Kathmandu, balancing sovereignty concerns with the logistical realities of one of the deadliest disasters in the country’s recent history.
