Australia deploys drone specialists to Nepal as 36 Australians remain missing after Himalayan floods
By Christine Chen, Reuters
SYDNEY, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Australia dispatched a 15-member disaster response team to Nepal on Friday to join the search for survivors of catastrophic Himalayan flooding, as Canberra expressed grave concern for 36 Australian citizens still unaccounted for.
The team, made up largely of drone pilots from state emergency services in New South Wales, left after Nepal requested technical help. Authorities said it is equipped with drones capable of surveying large areas from the air and navigating confined spaces that may be inaccessible to ground rescuers.
"We are still holding out hope that people might still be surviving in some locations, and hopefully this team can help to locate any of those people," Jeremy Fewtrell, commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW, told reporters at Sydney Airport on Friday.
More than 1,200 people have been confirmed dead and about 5,000 remain missing since the Aug. 26 flash floods triggered by a glacier collapse in the Himalayas. Nepal's government has said 583 foreign nationals are among the missing.
Seven Australian Federal Police officers specializing in disaster victim identification are expected to arrive in Nepal on Saturday. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said 19 Australians were already in Nepal, including consular officers, humanitarian police, and defense and police personnel.
Nepal's foreign minister said last week that international help was needed in specialized and technical areas. Local authorities have cautioned that the chances of finding survivors are fading, but search operations have continued near Nepal's border with China, where floodwater and debris swept through several villages.
Some relatives of missing Australians have also traveled to Nepal to conduct their own searches, Australian media reported.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Friday that 36 Australians remained unaccounted for after two people were confirmed safe overnight. "We still have very serious concerns for the 36 Australians that we haven't been able to locate yet," he told ABC News Breakfast.
The deployment highlights the rising importance of drone-assisted rescue in mountainous disaster zones. It also comes as scientists warn that warming temperatures are making glacial lakes across the Himalayas more unstable, and such outburst floods are expected to become more frequent.