An Australian believed to be missing after floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week has been found alive. This was reported by infohub.kz.
Officials from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) made contact with the person on Tuesday from Tibet. They are receiving support from Australian consular officers and have spoken with their family.
This brings down the number of Australians missing in the flash floods from 43 to 42, and comes after another Australian, 25-year-old Cara Severino, was safely located on the weekend.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: "We're incredibly thankful another Australian, who had been unaccounted for, has now 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, DFAT 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 on the two sides of the border.
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."
She also added: "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 an $8 million assistance package for affected communities on the Nepal-China border. 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.