Floods wash away Miteri Bridge at Rasuwagadhi, road that links Nepal with China disrupted

With the floods sweeping away the Miteri Bridge at Rasuwagadhi, an international trade border with China, the road connecting Nepal with the northern neighbour has been disrupted.

The floods triggered by torrential rainfall washed away the bridge that came into operation in 2019 last night.

When the floods in 2020 damaged the bridge, it was repaired and brought back into operation.

The bridge, which was further damaged by the 2015 earthquake, was built by Tibet Engineering Company Limited's Tan Sun Road and Bridge with Chinese investment.

The bridge was constructed five meters northeast of where it was before after the trade increased.

The business, which was previously affected by landslides, has become even more uncertain after the flood washed away the bridge.

Arjun Poudel, Chief District Officer of Rasuwa, said that talks are also being held with the Consulate General in China and Chinese officials at the border on this issue.

“Right now, we are busy rescuing the people trapped in the floods. Nine people have been rescued so far. Search is also going on for the missing persons,” he said.

Meanwhile, three policemen, including an assistant sub inspector, who were deployed to rescue those trapped in the floods, have gone missing.

Those missing have been identified as Assistant Sub Inspector Lal Bahadur Shrestha, Police Constable Munna Thakur and Lokendra Bohora, according to the District Police Office, Rasuwa.

They were deployed from the Area Police Office, Timure to rescue the people trapped in the floods.

Police said that 18 people including six Chinese nationals have gone missing in the floods.

Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel have been deployed to search for the missing persons.

According to the list available from the Armed Police Force, the missing Chinese nationals have been identified as Yu Yue, Li Huaqing, Yang Chuan, Yu Hai Hang, You Xiao Qiu and Jou Yong.

Police identified the other missing persons as  Zipan Chaudhary, Santosh Dayat, Buddhiram Tharu, Laxmi Narayan Tharu, Suresh Tharu, Narendra BK of Baglung, container driver Phurba Lama, mixer driver Govinda Moktan, and Hilux driver Lokman Tamang.

Similarly, the floods also damaged the dry port being built near the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. The workers working there are also out of contact.

Assistant Chief District Office Dhruva Prasad Adhikari said that 18 have been reported missing.

The floods have also caused damage to the charging stations and the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project on the border.

Cargo containers and electric vehicles were also swept away by the floods.