163 Indians pulled out of Nepal's flood zone as tunnel crews push into Chilime

The Ministry of External Affairs said 163 Indian nationals have been rescued from flood-hit Nepal. The figure is current as of 7:30 p.m. on 1 September and is five higher than Monday’s count. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted the update on X and added that 151 Indians who had been stuck on the Chinese side of the disaster belt left China on Tuesday.

The flash floods began on 26 August after ice and rock came down near the Nepal-Tibet border. Nepal’s death count has crossed 1,050. Thousands remain unaccounted for. More than 580 foreign nationals are still listed as missing in some tallies. India’s published work on 1 September was three files: people already found, people still inside hydropower tunnels, and bodies that need names.

Chilime and Langtang

A 24-member Indian tunnel team is working the hydropower tunnels at Chilime with the Nepali Army. Access is tight. Heavy kit cannot get in. The floor is marsh. The MEA said the crew used improvised floats to move deeper after establishing a foothold. Ambassador Naveen Srivastava said the same team would go back in on 2 September to look for anyone still alive in an air pocket.

On Monday the team had probed 185 metres at Langtang and set safety ropes at Chilime. Weather and slope have slowed both sites. The statement does not claim a live rescue from inside the pipes. It claims progress through silt.

The forensic list

A 19-member Indian forensic team started work in Kathmandu on Sunday with the Nepal Police Forensic Science Laboratory. The job is DNA and paperwork. Families have been told they can bring photographs and biological samples. Morgues in the valley are full. Mass burials have already begun in parts of Kathmandu. Identification is now a bottleneck, not only a field problem.

South Korea has sent 44 rescuers. India has flown at least four relief sorties. The fourth carried 11 tonnes and landed on Sunday. Amit Shah praised the Sashastra Seema Bal’s work on the border. Those are supporting facts. The operational facts on 1 September are 163 Indians out, 151 out of China, a tunnel floor that still has to be searched, and a DNA queue that will run for weeks.

What the 163 does not include

The MEA number is rescued Indians, not the full Indian death or missing list. It also does not include Nepalis pulled out by Indian crews. Readers should keep those columns separate. A person counted as rescued on Tuesday can still be injured. A person not on the 163 list may be in a Nepali hospital under a local name.

Wednesday’s test is Chilime. If the floats reach a chamber and find no one, the tunnel file starts to close. If they find someone, the 163 becomes 164 or more before the next evening brief. Either result is news. The MEA has said the crew will try again tomorrow. That is the only schedule that matters on this file tonight.