The death toll from the devastating floods along the China-Nepal border has climbed to 1,252 in Nepal, while the overall number of deaths in Nepal and Tibet has reached 1,273, authorities said Thursday.
Nepal’s disaster authority said 4,216 people remained missing as rescue teams continued large-scale search operations in areas devastated by the floods. Chinese state media reported 21 deaths in Tibet, along with 541 people still missing.
That puts the combined number of missing people in Nepal and China at 4,757.
The disaster, which struck on August 26, has also left hundreds of foreign nationals unaccounted for. Nearly 600 people from more than 30 nationalities are reportedly missing, with Indians among the largest groups. The US State Department said about 75 Americans were still unaccounted for as of Wednesday.
In Kathmandu, relatives of missing foreigners have been desperately searching hospitals and morgues for information. American national Sanjeev Rai, 53, travelled to Nepal after his wife went missing.
“I feel desperate, it’s been so many days,” Rai said.
The floods have caused extensive destruction across mountainous parts of Nepal, washing away roads and bridges and damaging critical infrastructure. The devastation has severely complicated efforts to deliver aid and reach isolated communities near the Chinese border.
Humanitarian agencies are exploring alternative ways to transport essential supplies to the worst-hit areas, including the use of porters, helicopters and cargo drones.
Lila Pieters Yahia, the UN resident coordinator for Nepal, said aid agencies were discussing helicopter and cargo-drone operations with the government. She also pointed to Nepal’s network of experienced porters, who routinely carry heavy loads over steep and difficult mountain trails.
Meanwhile, the Nepali Army and rescue teams, assisted by foreign experts, continued searching for survivors believed to be trapped inside several hydropower tunnels.
Army personnel are using excavators and other heavy machinery to clear debris and search the tunnels for possible survivors, with the rescue operation continuing on Thursday.
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