‘Don’t need help’: Nepal declines foreign rescue teams as flood death toll nears 500

The Balen Shah-led govt has decided that Nepali security agencies should lead the operation

Nepal has declined offers from several countries to deploy search and rescue teams after devastating flash floods killed at least 469 people and left hundreds missing, saying its own security agencies are capable of handling the operation.The decision comes as rescue teams continue to search through mud and debris following Wednesday’s flash flood along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems near the Nepal-China border.According to The Kathmandu Post, Nepal’s foreign ministry has received multiple official and unofficial requests from countries and international organisations seeking to send their own rescue personnel. Officials, however, said the government had decided that Nepali security agencies should lead the operation.India, China, the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were among those that sought to assist with search and rescue, the newspaper reported. India had also requested permission to deploy its National Disaster Response Force after hundreds of its citizens were reported missing. Nepal declined the request.“We received similar requests from China and other countries too, but we had to turn down the request,” a foreign ministry official told The Kathmandu Post.“Don’t need help with rescue operation from other countries,” the ministry said, as per Reuters.The decision was partly based on Nepal’s experience after the 2015 earthquake, when the arrival of numerous foreign rescue teams created coordination and management difficulties, according to the report.Instead of foreign rescue teams, Nepal wants financial assistance channelled through a single mechanism. Officials said further international support would be sought during the rehabilitation and reconstruction phases.The scale of the disaster remains immense. Nepal Police said on Friday that 469 people had died, while 1,545 people had been rescued and injured. Nearly 1,000 people remain missing, according to disaster authorities, with 28 police personnel also unaccounted for.Nepal Police has deployed 4,348 personnel for search and rescue operations. Authorities have rescued 644 people from Rasuwa, 898 from Nuwakot and three from Dhading.Foreign nationals are among those missing. The Kathmandu Post reported that 178 Indians, 65 Americans, 51 Malaysians, 53 Ukrainians, 33 Britons, 35 Australians and 25 Canadians remain unaccounted for, alongside nationals from dozens of other countries. Chinese officials have also said at least 100 Chinese nationals are out of contact.Nepal has nevertheless welcomed international financial and humanitarian assistance. The United States has pledged $500,000, while the World Health Organization has sent emergency medical supplies.The foreign ministry has also established an Emergency Control Room to coordinate information, search and rescue efforts and consular assistance for foreign nationals affected by the floods.