Roughly 80 Americans still unaccounted for after Himalayan disaster kills 903, officials say

Roughly 80 Americans remain unaccounted for following the catastrophic Himalayan flood last Wednesday that killed hundreds of people, the State Department said. The update marks a decrease from a previous estimate of at least 90 Americans who went missing near the Nepal-China border. A State Department spokesperson told Fox News that 13 American citizens have made their way to safety in Nepal. Meanwhile, Nepal’s death toll has risen to 903, while the number of people still unaccounted for has nearly doubled to roughly 4,200, according to an update from local officials Sunday. According to officials, the disaster occurred in north-central Nepal when a distant slope failure involving a glacier triggered a rapidly moving debris flow that traveled roughly 62 miles downstream before striking a populated area. Footage from the disaster showed a massive surge of water and debris suddenly rushing through the valleys, engulfing buildings in its path. A spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 903 bodies have been recovered, about 4,200 people are still unaccounted for, and over 10,000 people have been rescued, including over 323 foreign nationals. As per available data, about 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries are still missing. Jyoti Jankowski, an Isha Foundation coordination leader based in Tennessee, told Fox News that 22 of the missing Americans were part of a pilgrimage affiliated with a nonprofit group and were inside an immigration building when the flooding struck. Authorities noted that Nepal is coordinating with neighboring countries and the international community to provide relief, with supplies arriving from India and China, and more expected from the U.S., U.K., UAE and other international partners. The State Department announced it is deploying a disaster response advisor and providing $500,000 in assistance through Catholic Relief Services for emergency shelter, relief items, and water and sanitation assistance. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the glacier-related event resulted in a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, followed by a second seismic event equivalent to a magnitude 4.2 earthquake.