China-Nepal flood toll tops 1,000 as tunnel rescue offers last hope

The death toll from devastating Himalayan glacial floods has surpassed 1,000, while rescue teams continue digging through hydropower tunnels for workers believed trapped inside.

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We are focused on search and rescue efforts at the tunnels, our work is continuing.

Nepal’s disaster authority reported at least 987 deaths in the country on Tuesday. Nearly 4,500 people are missing after freezing water, rocks and debris from a high-altitude glacial collapse swept downstream, destroying settlements along the China-Nepal border.

Nepali rescue teams are digging, drilling and blasting through sludge and debris in an effort to reach around 100 hydropower workers. So far, they have recovered only bodies from the blocked tunnels. Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said soldiers were continuing search and rescue operations, collecting bodies and trying to prevent disease.

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Our soldiers are also deployed to collect bodies and prevent the spread of disease.

The scale of the disaster has overwhelmed mortuaries. Authorities have begun burying hundreds of unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples, while at least 17 bodies have been recovered from rivers downstream in India. Police using a drone found 24 corpses in a single house in Nuwakot district.

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Her granddaughter was helping her escape, but both were swept away.

In Kathmandu, families posted photographs of missing relatives on a wall outside a hospital. Debu Sapkota said his 83-year-old mother-in-law and her granddaughter were swept away in Trishuli Bazaar. He said he no longer hoped they had survived and was looking for their bodies. Entire communities have been destroyed, leaving families in makeshift shelters as rain continues. Roads and dozens of bridges have been damaged, and power plants have been destroyed.

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I am here hoping to find their bodies.