Rescuers in Nepal struggled to retrieve bodies Sunday amid fears of a cholera outbreak after monsoon rains swept away houses, killing at least 85 people and stranding thousands more, officials said.
Torrential rain last week led to multiple landslides and flooding, leaving a trail of death and destruction in the Himalayan nation.
The rains have damaged roads across the country’s western plains bordering India, forcing officials to use helicopters to rescue stranded people and deliver emergency supplies.
As the weather cleared Sunday, improving visibility after three days of incessant rain, army officials ran helicopter sorties to evacuate some 20,000 people stranded in the western districts, said national disaster management Chief Yadav Prasad Koirala.
“We are very concerned about a possible outbreak of cholera due to the bodies lying underwater,” Koirala reportedly said.
“We have mobilised health workers to set up camps and provide people with clean drinking water and dry food.”