Nepal-Tibet floods: Wong confirms DFAT officials deployed as 34 Australians remain missing
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said the government is in the process of deploying DFAT officials to the Nepal-Tibet border region following a massive flood and landslide disaster that has killed at least 160 people, with hundreds more unaccounted for.
Wong confirmed 34 Australians, who remain missing, were “part of separate pilgrimage and tour groups”, adding: “The government’s priority is to confirm the whereabouts and welfare of these Australians … the situation is a difficult one.”
A US-based tour company, Himalayan Glacier Adventures, told ABC News that 15 Australians, part of a group of 47 people, were on a hiking tour in the Lantang Valley at the time of the landslides.
The group of Australians comprised nine men and six women. Two of those Australians were reportedly boys aged 11 and 14, and a woman aged 64.
SBS News is Australia’s trusted news source for the latest news from Australia and across the world.
Subscribe to the SBS News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on X: https://www.twitter.com/SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sbsnews" target="_blank" rel=”nofollow”>https://www.facebook.com/sbsnews
Apple News: https://trib.al/MTx0gUe
For the latest news, visit www.sbs.com.au/news
Network Terms & Conditions: https://sbs.com.au/terms
Privacy Policy: https://sbs.com.au/privacy
Feedback or complaints: https://sbs.com.au/complaints
