New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) As many as 275 Indian nationals remain missing following the devastating flash floods in Nepal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday, adding that an Indian forensic team is working with Nepali experts in Kathmandu to identify victims.

“As I told you last time, we had given you a figure of 275 people who are missing Indian nationals or over and above, there were several other people from the Indian diaspora, persons of Indian origin, who are also missing. We have a forensic team in Nepal which is working in Kathmandu in several laboratories along with their Nepali colleagues. They have been working on 3,000 samples, of which they have been able to arrive at 1,200 DNA profiles, so the work is going on and on the missing Indian nationals we await to hear from Nepali authorities,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing.

Jaiswal said India had extended assistance to Nepal in line with requests from Kathmandu since the disaster struck, including relief material and rescue teams.

“So, on this, I would like to say that, as you know, when this incident happened, since then, we have provided assistance from our side based on the requests received from them. This included relief material, as well as the rescue teams that we sent there, about which you already know. We sent a team of 54 people there. Some people are still working there, while some have returned. The Government of Nepal is currently assessing the situation there,” he said.

The 54-member Indian team comprised 30 tunnel rescue experts, 19 forensic experts and a five-member medical team.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) flight, carrying 11 tonnes of supplies, reached Kathmandu on Saturday and was handed over to the Government of Nepal, taking to nine the special flights India has dispatched with relief material, equipment and expert personnel since the floods struck on August 26.

–IANS

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