Nepal, China floods: Missing toll nears 3,000 as rescuers search for survivors

Rescuers in Nepal and China are engaged in a desperate search for nearly 3,000 people missing days after a catastrophic flood event. A "tsunami-like wall of water and debris" swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing villages and leaving a trail of devastation.

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All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left.

Latest figures indicate that 633 bodies have been recovered, but the number of missing is expected to rise, with reports suggesting some victims may have been carried downstream as far as India. The disaster has had a profound impact, affecting an estimated 93,000 people, according to the Red Cross. Survivors describe losing everything and facing an agonizing wait for news of loved ones.

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We don’t know anything. Hopefully he is in a safe place.

Compounding the crisis, fears of further flooding are mounting. The deluge created large lakes in the affected areas, posing a significant threat to rescue teams. Nepali police have urged all rescuers to seek safe locations due to information that a "water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side." Chinese authorities suspended rescue operations in the hardest-hit Tibetan area of Gyirong due to the renewed flood risk, though the threat has since reportedly eased.

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The trauma of Wednesday’s catastrophe has been “enormous”.

In Nepal, military personnel are attempting to reach people trapped in the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydropower project. "Two helicopters have been dispatched, but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel," stated army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet. The scale of the destruction is immense, with survivors reporting that "all the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left."

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Two helicopters have been dispatched, but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel.