Rescue operations intensified along the Nepal-China border on Saturday as the death toll from devastating flash floods and landslides rose to 633, with nearly 3,000 people still missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region.
The disaster, which struck the Himalayan region on Wednesday, sent a powerful wall of water, ice, mud and debris through settlements, sweeping away homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Rescue teams have continued to search devastated communities for survivors while families wait anxiously for information about relatives who remain unaccounted for.
According to the latest figures, Nepal recorded 626 deaths, while seven people were confirmed dead in Tibet. Authorities said 2,426 people remained missing in Nepal, including hundreds of foreign nationals, while another 554 were reported missing in Tibet. Seven bodies believed to be victims of the floods had also been recovered in India from rivers flowing from Nepal.
The scale of the disaster expanded further after Nepal’s disaster authority added 933 hydropower workers to its missing-persons list. The region is home to several major energy infrastructure projects, many of which were badly affected by the flooding.
Officials estimate that as many as 93,000 people may have been affected by the catastrophe, according to the Red Cross. Survivors have described scenes of extraordinary destruction, with entire riverside settlements reportedly swept away within minutes.
“All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left,” survivor Buddhi Dangol said, describing the devastation.
The rescue effort has been complicated by difficult terrain, damaged infrastructure and the continuing threat of additional flooding. Huge quantities of ice, mud and debris created lakes in several areas, raising concerns that further breaches could endanger both survivors and emergency workers.
Nepali police at one point warned rescue personnel to move to safer locations after receiving information that a water dam had burst on the Tibetan side. Chinese authorities temporarily suspended rescue operations in the worst-hit area of Gyirong because of concerns over renewed flooding, although officials later said the immediate threat had eased.
In Nepal, military personnel have also been working to rescue people trapped inside tunnels at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project. The Army said more than 100 people were still believed to be trapped in the area, while about 350 workers and residents had already been brought to safety.
Army spokesman Raja Basnet said two helicopters had been deployed, but rescuers were struggling to locate the tunnel entrances because of the extensive destruction caused by the flood.
The disaster has also affected pilgrims travelling towards Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash. Scores of Hindu devotees from different countries were reportedly in the affected region when the floods struck.
One survivor, Sivaranjani Muthunathan, said she had been travelling by bus with 56 other people towards the Chinese border when what initially appeared to be a traffic jam suddenly turned into a life-threatening flood. Vehicles around them were swept away or buried under mud, forcing passengers to escape through the driver’s side and climb to higher ground.
More than 500 foreign nationals are believed to be among those missing, while several countries have been working to establish the whereabouts of their citizens. China has also evacuated hundreds of stranded tourists and residents from affected parts of Tibet.
The disaster has left survivors facing severe shortages of food and drinking water as communications and transportation links remain disrupted. Aid and rescue teams are racing against time to reach isolated communities before worsening weather conditions create additional dangers.
With hundreds of people still unaccounted for and the death toll expected to rise, authorities in Nepal and China face a massive humanitarian and recovery challenge. The immediate priority remains locating survivors, recovering victims and moving vulnerable residents away from areas threatened by further flooding.
For thousands of families, however, the rescue operation is also a desperate search for answers as they continue waiting for news of loved ones swept away by one of the deadliest disasters to hit the Himalayan region in recent years.
