Death toll from landslide in Nepal rises to 1,287

NEW DELHI, September 4. /TASS/. The death toll from the landslide in Nepal has risen to 1,287, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.

About 5,000 people remain missing, while more than 13,000 have been rescued.

The August 26 disaster destroyed 22 schools and damaged another ten across the two districts. As many as 22 teachers and school staff members also remain missing. Surya Bahadur Khatri, head of the Nuwakot Education Development and Coordination Unit, said the authorities were doing everything possible to find them, but rescue operations were being hampered by disrupted communications.

According to Navaraj Sapkota, a school inspector with the Bidur municipality education unit, "the situation on the ground is deeply distressing." "In some cases, we have located surviving parents who cannot find their children, while in other instances, surviving students are searching for missing parents," he said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said earlier that at least 22,000 children in Nepal urgently needed safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene support as water systems across the country were damaged or destroyed. A flood struck northern Nepal on August 26, caused by a landslide on the border with China, about 20 kilometers northwest from the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. A powerful flow of water, dirt and rocks rushed over 70 kilometers down the riverbed, destroying nearby settlements and flooding large areas.