Bulgarian citizen among foreigners missing in Nepal after devastating floods

A Bulgarian citizen is among the 800 foreign nationals reported missing in Nepal and Tibet following sudden flooding and subsequent landslides in a border region. The information comes from an official update issued today by Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism.

Local police reported that 270 people have died in the disaster.

Nearly 1,500 people are missing in total. In Nepal alone, according to authorities, more than 820 people remain unaccounted for, nearly 600 of them foreigners. Rescue teams in the country have deployed helicopters to search for survivors and are dropping emergency aid packages from the air.

In Tibet, 558 people are missing, including 260 foreign nationals.

Among the missing tourists, Indians make up the largest group, at nearly 180 people. Dozens of Americans, Australians, Britons, Canadians, Ukrainians and citizens of other countries are also missing.

Nearly 100 Chinese citizens have gone missing in Nepal, China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing said today.

The Bulgarian embassies in China and India are in constant contact with the authorities in the affected region and are closely monitoring the situation.

The Bulgarian Embassy in Beijing also assisted a Bulgarian citizen in contacting his wife, who was traveling on an organized tour in the affected region. She is safe and is currently in Tibet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said.

A Bulgarian woman in Nepal has contacted Bulgaria’s diplomatic mission in Delhi. She is safe but has lost her personal documents. The embassy in Delhi provided remote assistance to help her obtain a temporary passport from the mission of an EU member state in Nepal.

Edited by Diana Tsankova, Rositsa Petkova, Miglena Ivanova