Nepal-China flash floods and landslides kill at least 919, nearly 4,800 missing

At least 919 people have died and 4,793 remain missing after flash floods and mudslides struck communities along the Nepal-China border, authorities said six days after the disaster.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported 903 confirmed deaths in Nepal and 4,247 missing people, including 592 foreign nationals. Those missing include police officers, soldiers, customs and immigration officials, hydropower workers and 127 Nepalese tourists.

On the Chinese side, 16 people have been confirmed dead and 546 remain missing in Gyirong County in the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the state news agency Xinhua. Foreign nationals account for 261 of those missing. China has deployed more than 2,100 personnel, along with hundreds of vehicles and thousands of rescue tools.

The floods hit on Aug. 26 after a glacier on Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 meters. The resulting ice and rock avalanche developed into a large debris flow that swept through valleys along the border.

Floodwaters and mudslides devastated Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavrepalanchok districts as well as the Kathmandu Valley. The debris also buried areas around Gyirong on the Chinese side. Search and rescue operations continue across the affected region, including efforts to reach workers trapped at several hydropower construction sites.