Kian84 says Nepali friends Rai and Tamang are safe amid deadly floods

Broadcaster Kian84 has mourned the victims of the devastating floods in Nepal while sharing news that two Nepali boys he met through a television program — Rai and Tamang — are safe.

On Friday, Kian84 posted on social media: "Rai and Tamang are safe. I pray for all those who lost their lives."

Rai and Tamang first met Kian84 when they helped him during a Sherpa experience segment in the Nepal episode of the MBC variety program "Taeeonan Gime Segye Ilju 4," which aired last May.

The two later visited South Korea in August of the same year to film an episode of MBC Every1's "Welcome, First Time in Korea?" and reunited with Kian84 during the shoot.

As the death toll from the massive floods that struck the Himalayan mountain region along the Nepal-China border continued to rise, South Korean internet users flocked to Kian84's social media to ask about Rai and Tamang. Kian84 responded by personally confirming that both were safe, easing widespread concern.

Meanwhile, Nepal's rescue authorities said Saturday (local time) that the floods had killed 626 people and left 2,426 missing, according to Reuters and other foreign media. Adding the seven killed and 554 missing in a landslide linked to the same floods in Gyirong County, Shigatse, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region on the same day, the combined death toll across the two countries stands at 633, with 2,980 people still unaccounted for.