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Nepal Deploys Drones to Recover Flood Victims as Death Toll Nears 1,100
(MENAFN) Drones are playing an expanding and unexpected role in Nepal's flood response, now being used not only to deliver supplies but to retrieve the bodies of victims, the Kathmandu Post reported Wednesday.
In Dhading, one of the districts hit hardest by last week's floods, residents watched an unfamiliar sight unfold overhead: an unmanned aircraft carrying a human body through the sky. The drone had been sent to recover the body from a site rescuers deemed too difficult and dangerous to reach on foot. In total, seven bodies have been airlifted out of the area by drone.
Less than ten years ago, drone use in Nepal was largely confined to international disaster-response teams. Foreign relief organizations first brought the technology into the country to search for survivors, evaluate damage and aid recovery efforts after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal in 2015, killing thousands and leveling large portions of Kathmandu and surrounding areas.
Today, however, drones are being used well beyond aerial photography and mapping — they've become active tools in search-and-rescue missions. Operators say that while the aircraft face real limits in payload, range and weather tolerance, their impact can far outweigh their size in situations where traditional transport simply isn't an option.
An eight-member drone team has been relying on the DJI FlyCart 100, a heavy-lift cargo drone manufactured in China that can carry loads of up to 85 kilograms (187 pounds) and fly as far as 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). Additional drones have been sent to scan rivers and riverbanks in the search for people still missing, while thermal-imaging drones are being used to detect signs of life, potentially helping rescuers locate survivors trapped in areas too dangerous or remote to enter directly.
Operators have also flown drones inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, where a large number of workers are feared to remain trapped following the floods. Elsewhere, the aircraft continue to be used to deliver food to communities cut off by the disaster.
The floods have affected an estimated 1.6 million people in Nepal, killing nearly 1,100 and leaving close to 4,000 others unaccounted for. Across the border in China, at least 16 people have died and 546 remain missing, including 261 foreign nationals.
In Dhading, one of the districts hit hardest by last week's floods, residents watched an unfamiliar sight unfold overhead: an unmanned aircraft carrying a human body through the sky. The drone had been sent to recover the body from a site rescuers deemed too difficult and dangerous to reach on foot. In total, seven bodies have been airlifted out of the area by drone.
Less than ten years ago, drone use in Nepal was largely confined to international disaster-response teams. Foreign relief organizations first brought the technology into the country to search for survivors, evaluate damage and aid recovery efforts after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal in 2015, killing thousands and leveling large portions of Kathmandu and surrounding areas.
Today, however, drones are being used well beyond aerial photography and mapping — they've become active tools in search-and-rescue missions. Operators say that while the aircraft face real limits in payload, range and weather tolerance, their impact can far outweigh their size in situations where traditional transport simply isn't an option.
An eight-member drone team has been relying on the DJI FlyCart 100, a heavy-lift cargo drone manufactured in China that can carry loads of up to 85 kilograms (187 pounds) and fly as far as 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). Additional drones have been sent to scan rivers and riverbanks in the search for people still missing, while thermal-imaging drones are being used to detect signs of life, potentially helping rescuers locate survivors trapped in areas too dangerous or remote to enter directly.
Operators have also flown drones inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, where a large number of workers are feared to remain trapped following the floods. Elsewhere, the aircraft continue to be used to deliver food to communities cut off by the disaster.
The floods have affected an estimated 1.6 million people in Nepal, killing nearly 1,100 and leaving close to 4,000 others unaccounted for. Across the border in China, at least 16 people have died and 546 remain missing, including 261 foreign nationals.
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