Devastating Flood in the Himalayas: Tibet Death Toll Rises to 43, With 519 Missing

The death toll from the devastating flooding along the China-Nepal border has risen to 43 on the Chinese side, while 519 people remain missing, according to China’s state news agency. The updated figures were recorded Saturday at 6 p.m. local time, 11 days after the disaster.

The previous tally released by Chinese authorities on Friday listed 31 dead and 531 missing. On the Nepalese side, the catastrophe has killed at least 1,341 people and left nearly 5,000 missing.

The disaster struck on Aug. 26, when a mass of ice and rocks broke away from the northern face of Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal. The debris surged into valleys below, causing flooding in the Himalayan border region.

Information from the Chinese side remains limited. Foreign journalists cannot travel freely in the Tibet Autonomous Region and may enter only on tightly controlled press trips arranged by the authorities. Chinese media have focused mainly on rescue operations and have not shown images of families’ reactions.

In Nepal, police publish updated figures daily, sometimes several times a day, and authorities release the names of missing people, including foreign nationals.