Elephants aid rescue

ELEPHANTS have helped rescue hundreds of tourists from a flooded jungle safari park in Nepal, as the death toll from floods and landslides after four days of heavy rain rose to 70.

The Rapti River overflowed its banks in Sauraha, 80km south of the capital, Kathmandu, inundating hotels and restaurants and leaving some 600 tourists stranded.

Suman Ghimire, head of a group of Sauraha hotel owners, said that about 300 guests were rescued on elephant backs and tractor trailers to safe locations.