One of 43 missing Australians has been located in Tibet, foreign affairs department says
Australians missing in the Nepal floods: what we know so far
An Australian believed to be missing after floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week has been found alive.
The person made contact with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) on Tuesday from Tibet.
They are receiving support from Australian consular officers and have spoken with their family.
This brings the number of Australians missing in the flash floods down from 43 to 42. Another Australian, 25-year-old Cara Severino, was safely located at the weekend.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the government was “incredibly thankful” the person had been found.
“It’s hard to imagine the sense of relief their loved ones must be feeling after what will have been an incredibly harrowing few days.”
Due to privacy obligations the foreign affairs department was unable to provide further details about the individual.
The death toll from the unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris on Wednesday last week has risen to 939 people, with 16 more dead reported in Tibet.
More than 4,400 are missing.
Wong said the government needed to “remain realistic” about the days ahead.
“Communications remain difficult, infrastructure has been destroyed and many areas are still difficult to reach,” she said.
“As each day passes, our grave concerns for those still unaccounted for inevitably grow.”
“Our thoughts remain firmly with all those waiting for news of family and friends, and with the search and rescue teams working in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.”
Australia has sent a $8m assistance package for affected communities on the border between Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet.
Nepal has deployed nearly 20,000 security personnel to support search and rescue, and Chinese state media has reported that 2,141 emergency personnel have been deployed.
