Flash Floods Kill 10 People In Bhutan, 7 Missing In Nepal

The Bhutan villagers, who had been collecting cordeyceps, a fungus used in medicine, were sleeping when the floodwaters hit just after midnight.

Flash floods triggered by heavy rains washed away a remote mountain camp in Bhutan on Wednesday killing 10 people and injuring five, while floods in neighbouring Nepal left seven people missing, authorities said. The Bhutan villagers, who had been collecting cordeyceps, a fungus used in medicine, were sleeping when the floodwaters hit just after midnight. Their camp near Laya, about 60 km (37 miles) north of the capital Thimphu, was washed away, local media reported. "Our hearts are with the people of Laya today, as we hear about the tragedy that struck a group of cordeycep collectors in the highland," Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said in a statement. Two helicopters were mobilised to evacuate the injured and rescuers from the armed forces were heading to the site which can only be reached after 11 hours of walking from the nearest road.