The world woke up to a series of large-scale tragedies and political upheavals in Asia and the Caucasus region. Emergencies in Nepal, China, Russia and Armenia mobilized rescue services and captured the attention of the international community in the early hours of today.
Biblical Disaster in Nepal and Tibet: Hundreds of Tourists Missing
Devastating flash floods and massive mudslides along the border between Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region swept away entire villages, roads and critical infrastructure. As of 7:00 Bulgarian time, official authorities confirmed at least 160 deaths, but the scale of the disaster is yet to be clarified.
According to information from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, quoted by BTA, a total of 403 tourists are missing after the disaster, of which 341 are foreign citizens from 28 countries. Among the missing are 105 Indians, 12 Britons, three Americans, as well as dozens of citizens of Malaysia, South Korea and Australia. The water element is believed to have been caused by the collapse of a glacier after a micro-earthquake in the area, which blocked the Lhende River.
Over 550 missing after landslide on the border in China
The situation on the Chinese side of the border is no less dramatic. A huge mass of earth and rock has buried the “Gyirong“ checkpoint in Tibet, completely cutting off roads, communications and power supply in the area.
The state news agency of Bangladesh BSS, citing Chinese media, reports that the number of people missing in the mudslide has reached 558 people. There are currently 3 confirmed deaths. Of all the missing people on Chinese territory, 260 are foreign citizens. Over a thousand rescuers, equipped with drones and sniffer dogs, are conducting a round-the-clock operation to search for survivors under tons of mud.
Fire at the Amur GHC: Special aircraft evacuates seriously injured people in Moscow
An industrial accident in Russia has claimed lives and injured dozens of workers. At the construction site of one of the largest gas chemical complexes in the world - the Amur GHC, a large-scale fire broke out in an auxiliary pyrolysis technological section. The incident occurred on August 25, and it took nearly 24 hours to control the flames.
According to current data from the Russian publication “Kommersant“, a total of 7 people died in the incident (six Chinese workers and one Russian citizen), and 9 people are still being sought. The total number of people seeking medical assistance has reached 152. Early this morning, a special Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry transported 9 of the most seriously injured patients from Blagoveshchensk to Moscow, who are being treated in specialized federal clinics. A criminal case has been opened for violation of industrial safety rules.
Former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan was urgently hospitalized during a trial
Political tensions in Yerevan escalated after Armenia's second president Robert Kocharyan was urgently hospitalized by ambulance directly from the courtroom. The news portal News.ru reported that the court hearing against him was suspended on the orders of doctors, with only his lawyers remaining in the courtroom.
Kocharyan and his elder son Sedrak were detained by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia in a large-scale investigation into abuse of power, money laundering and receiving bribes on an especially large scale in the period 2004-2009. The investigating authorities are examining suspicious transactions in the family's accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and the illegal appropriation of state property at prices significantly below market prices. The court has already remanded four of the six detainees in custody in the mega-case.