Palace: No Filipino casualty reported in Nepal flash flood

No Filipino has been reported killed or injured due to the deadly flash flood in Nepal that has left over a hundred people dead and hundreds more missing, Malacañang said Thursday.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said the Philippine government is coordinating with Nepalese authorities and the Filipino community to determine whether any Filipinos were affected by the disaster.

Citing figures from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Castro said there are 18 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Nepal.

The DFA, meanwhile, has recorded 128 Filipinos in the country, most of whom are women married to Nepalese locals.

"As of now, wala pa po na ibabalita na may naapektuhan po na ating mga kababayan," Castro said.

(As of now, we have yet to receive reports of any of our countrymen who were affected.)

She said authorities would continue monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Filipino community in Nepal.

The Palace official also conveyed the Marcos administration's sympathy for those affected by the disaster, saying the government is hoping for the safety and recovery of those affected.

Nepal authorities have placed the death toll at 162, while three other deaths were logged in Tibet. The running number of fatalities is believed to be 165.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, however, reported Thursday the tally of missing in the mudslide disaster in Tibet's Gyirong county was 558, including 260 foreign nationals. It was not immediately clear if the two nations' figures overlapped.

More than 400 foreigners were among 579 missing tourists, Nepal tourism officials said, after the disaster swept a region thronged by trekkers and pilgrims. — VDV, GMA News