- Two men arrested for stealing gold earrings from flood victim in Narayani River
- Video showed men removing earrings from dead woman swept by floodwaters
- Suspects identified as Madan Gurung, 25, and Umesh Chaudhary, 38, and detained
Amid the rescue efforts following the catastrophic flash floods in a border area of China and Nepal, two people have been arrested for allegedly stealing gold earrings from the body of a victim swept downstream during flooding in the Narayani River. The arrests came after a video went viral showing the two men removing what are believed to be gold earrings from the body of a woman washed away by the flood.
Nepal police later reshared the 41-second video, saying the two men have been taken into custody for stealing the earrings from the ear of the dead woman.
The clip showed the men pulling the woman's corpse from the water using wooden planks and her hair and then removing earrings from both her ears and placing them aside, while several people stood surrounding them, recording videos.
Later, Chitwan Police said that during its probe, it was found that the incident related to a dead body that was swept into the Narayani River by the massive flood.
Based on the video, police identified 25-year-old Madan Gurung and 38-year-old Umesh Chaudhary. The two suspects were arrested near Pokhara Bus Park in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-1 on Thursday, Nepali media portal Khabarhub reported, citing police.
The police stressed that looting or any form of inhumane activity targeting victims during the stressful time would not be tolerated.
Nepal Floods
The incident comes amid one of Nepal's deadliest flood disasters in years. Rescue teams are wading through mud, searching for more than 1,400 people missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border, as the death count rose sharply to at least 392, with entire villages swept away.
In Tibet, the roaring mudslide that struck on Wednesday engulfed a multi-story port building and swallowed a bus parking lot at the land border crossing of Gyirong Port. Mud left in the surrounding areas was more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep on average, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Roads leading to the crossing were all damaged, while secondary collapses or landslides might occur as rain continued in the area, it added.
