Australia28 August, 20263 min read
Penny Wong Confirms Australian Hiker Cara Severino Safely Located After Nepal Flooding
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Cara Severino, 26, was located by Australian consular officials in Nepal. Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed Severino is safe.
Severino found safe
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that Cara Severino, 26, was safely located in Nepal after making contact with her parents on Saturday. Wong said in a social media post, "This is a rare piece of positive news amid a disaster that has brought immense loss and uncertainty," as Australian families continued searching for loved ones still unaccounted for. The AAP report said almost 3000 people are unaccounted for, including 41 Australians who have not made contact since a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river near the Himalayan border with China.
The same report described how rescue workers have worked around the clock since the glacier collapse on Wednesday unleashed a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris that tore through Himalayan mountain river systems. In Sydney, the SMH.au account said Severino thanked embassy officials and the crew she had been hiking with when the disaster struck, and Wong said consular officials maintained regular contact with her on Saturday before driving out to meet her from Kathmandu.
Wong and families speak
Severino, speaking in a statement released alongside Wong’s comments, said she felt “blessed” to be Australian and thanked the crew she formed with on the first day when they entered the national park on the tractor. Wong told 7NEWS that while Severino’s rescue was a welcome development, there were still grave concerns for the remaining 40 missing Australians in the region. 7NEWS quoted Wong saying, "This is an extremely anxious time for their families and loved ones," as families in Australia held out hope for news.
The SMH.au report also described how Severino said she got out safely thanks to "Sudha, Lucas, Samir and Saugat," and it noted that she was being transported to a safe location while officials continued to check on her welfare. In the same SMH.au account, Bharat Mangwani said they held out hope that some Australians were still alive and stuck in a building under the mud, after Mangwani’s last known location was the Gyirong Immigration Facility inundated with floodwater in the early stages of the disaster.
Numbers, rescue pressure
While Severino’s case offered “positive” news, the Guardian reported that at least 584 people have been killed and more than 1,900 are missing after a catastrophic flash flood hit the China-Nepal border on Wednesday. The Guardian said Severino was the first of 41 Australians reported missing in the tragedy to be confirmed safe, and it added that she was attempting to reach Kathmandu on foot with a group of Nepali hikers on a trek of more than 110km. The West Australian reported that Nepali authorities said at least 547 people have been killed in Nepal and five in Tibet as of Friday afternoon, with 1,473 people injured and more than 1500 still missing, including 38 Australians for whom grave fears continue to be held.
In the West Australian account, Red Cross warned nearly 100,000 people have been affected and David Fisher said, "The trauma of this event is enormous," as rescue efforts faced new flood fears from a barrier lake formed by mud and debris. The same report said Australia confirmed a $5 million assistance package for communities along the Nepal-Tibet border, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying, "We have $2 million going to the World Food Programme" and outlining additional funding through other agencies and Emergency Action Alliance.