In brief
- SBS News understands an Australian citizen who was in Nepal has confirmed they are safe.
- Thousands of people, including 35 Australians, are still unaccounted for.
An Australian citizen who was in Nepal has been confirmed safe in the wake of the catastrophic flooding that swept through the region nearly two weeks ago.
The Australian was uncontactable but has today confirmed they are safe and well and do not require consular assistance, SBS News understands.
There are still 35 Australians who remain unaccounted for in the region.
At least 1,399 people were killed by the 26 August mudslide and flooding in Nepal and Tibet and more than 5,400 are missing, including around 800 foreigners.
A group of Australian families with missing loved ones released a statement on Sunday, calling for greater transparency from tour groups and authorities.
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They expressed gratitude to the Australian Federal Police and search teams working to find missing Australians, but criticised the Australian government for what they said was its failure to provide answers.
The federal government has sent a disaster assistance response team and other specialist resources to Kathmandu to assist with the search.
It has also committed $11 million to support the disaster response, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday was of national importance.
Race to find hydropower workers
Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three of them from deep inside tunnels — two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday — have buoyed hopes that more could still be alive.
At least 11 hydropower projects were engulfed when a glacier collapsed into a river on the Nepal-China border on August 26, burying the entrances to the tunnels of these projects under debris and mud and cutting off those trapped inside.
Authorities said Tuesday that rescuers in Nepal are focusing on three hydropower project tunnels where they believe dozens of workers could be trapped.
"Our search operation is focussed on finding survivors, including in tunnels. Our bigger focus is on the Chilime hydroelectric project, where we believe people are trapped, because there was a canteen, residency and arrangements for food," Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of the country's disaster authority, told Reuters.
Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, who is advising Nepali teams, has said the operation presents an unprecedented challenge.
"We are facing something I have never faced before," he said earlier this week.
"Not one rescue, but multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved."
— With additional reporting by AAP, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
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