Nepal’s government on Thursday said that 403 people are believed to be missing 12 days after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake rocked the nation. This is the first time that the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) has released an estimate of how many people are missing.
The death toll from the April 25 earthquake is 7,802. The capital district suffered the most fatalities in the quake, with 3,035 dead.
Preliminary figures reveal that 113 of the missing are foreigners and that the majority of them were in the Langtang Valley, north of Kathmandu, when the quake struck, said police spokesman Sarbendra Khanal.
“This number still needs to be verified,” Khanal told CNN. “We came up with this number based on missing persons complaints and notices from foreign missions.” We have to match this with immigration and tourism offices.”
Most of the Nepalis missing are from Nuwakot district, northwest of Kathmandu, and Sindhupalchowk district, northeast of the capital.
The government has asked search and rescue teams from 34 countries to leave and is now focusing on relief and rehabilitation.
According to NEOC data, more than 10% of the country’s homes were destroyed (299,588) or damaged (269,107).