Pope Leo XIV has expressed his sadness following the glacial collapse on the Nepal-China border, which caused a deadly wave of floods and mudslides that killed at least 389 people, with more than 1500 missing, including 34 Australians. Source: OSV News.
In a telegram sent on the Pope’s behalf yesterday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed the pontiff’s condolences upon learning “of the loss of life and devastation caused by the flash floods in Nepal”.
“Commending the souls of the deceased to the clemency of the Almighty, His Holiness sends heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved, together with the assurance of his spiritual closeness to those affected by this tragedy,” Cardinal Parolin wrote.
“Likewise offering prayers for the emergency personnel engaged in the ongoing rescue efforts, he invokes upon all divine assistance and protection,” he added.
According to The Associated Press, the United States Geological Survey initially reported an earthquake 66 kilometres north of Kathmandu on Wednesday. However, further analysis revealed that the seismic event was caused by a 5.2 magnitude glacial collapse.
In an interview with the Vatican’s missionary news agency, Fides, Nepal’s apostolic administrator Fr Silas Krishna Bogati called the catastrophic event “the worst disaster in the country’s history”.
“It was terrible. A flood coming from the mountains, and directed violently towards the valley, overwhelmed everything: people, homes, bridges, structures. Villages, markets, and roads were swept away. It is a serious wound for the nation,” Fr Bogati said.
The Australian reports that Wednesday’s catastrophic event obliterated mountain communities and sparked fears of the worst Australian death toll in an international natural disaster.
In an update overnight, Nepal police said 389 bodies had been recovered, and that the number of injured and rescued people had reached 466. It was overnight unknown the identities of those rescued or their nationalities.
At latest count, 34 Australians, many who were in the region on walking tours and sacred religious pilgrimages, are yet to be found, with rescue teams working against severed communications and obliterated infrastructure.
The more than 1500 missing people included as many as 700 foreign tourists, with the overall death toll expected to rise sharply.
The missing Australians came largely from the Indian-Australian community and included a tour group of 15 operated by US-based company Himalayan Glacier Adventures
The group was on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, and included two boys, aged 11 and 14.
It is potentially the greatest Australian loss of life in a natural disaster overseas, after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami claimed the lives of 26 Australians.
FULL STORY
Pope prays for dead, missing following catastrophic mudslides, floods in Nepal (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News)
Fresh flood warning for Himalayas as search continues for 34 missing Australians (By Cameron Stewart and Elise Williams, The Australian)
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Families’ desperate wait for news of loved ones after devastating Nepal flash flood (The Age)
