Australia sends drone specialists to Nepal as flooding death toll tops 1,200
Is sending a team of drone specialists to Nepal as search-and-rescue crews work through the aftermath of devastating flash flooding that has killed...
Australia is sending a team of drone specialists to Nepal as search-and-rescue crews work through the aftermath of devastating flash flooding that has killed around 1,200 people. The move comes as the number of people still missing has climbed to about 4,200, with dozens of Australians among those unaccounted for.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra was increasing humanitarian assistance and supporting Nepali authorities, who have already mobilised vast numbers of personnel in the search effort. The scale is staggering. The government says around 38 Australians are still missing.
Drone teams join the search
Australia will send 15 specialist drone operators to Nepal to help identify areas for search-and-rescue teams. The drones are intended to support efforts on the ground by helping authorities focus their search in hard-hit zones after the floods.
Wong said Australians should “hold on to hope” as Nepali authorities continue searching in locations identified by the Australian government. She said Canberra has “grave concerns” for those still unaccounted for, and that those worries deepen with every hour that passes.
“We all understand the scale of this disaster; we’ve seen this through the media, the images are harrowing,” Wong said. The country’s response, she added, includes an enormous local effort already under way, with Nepali authorities deploying about 20,000 people for search and rescue.
Rising toll, widening uncertainty
The latest figures place the death toll at around 1,200, while the number of missing has risen to about 4,200. For families waiting for news, the numbers carry a brutal weight. Every update matters.
The Australian deployment adds a technical layer to a rescue effort already stretched across a disaster zone where access and visibility can be difficult. Drones can help teams map damage, scan affected areas and narrow the search for survivors and the missing.
Wong said the government was ramping up aid as the situation unfolds, but she also made clear that hope remains central to the response. “We all hold on to hope, and we must hold on to hope,” she said.
The missing Australians remain a key concern as the wider death toll edges around 1,200 and the list of those unaccounted for continues to grow by the hour.
