Dozens of elephants and rafts have been deployed to rescue nearly 700 people trapped by floods in a popular resort in southern Nepal, officials said.
Several hotels in Sauraha, in Chitwan district, have been inundated, trapping the tourists, many of them foreigners. The floods and landslides caused by torrential rains have killed at least 49 people across the country.
The Red Cross said 1,00,000 people have been affected, with communications and electricity cut off in many areas. A hotel owner in Sauraha, 155km south-west of the capital, Kathmandu, said the elephants had been used to take the tourists to the nearest open road and airport.
Narayan Prasad Bhatta, the chief district officer of Chitwan district, said, “We are mobilising all the resources we have to ensure that everyone is safe.”