Nepal flood death toll rises to 616: police

At least 616 people have died in devastating floods and mudslides that struck the Nepal-Tibet border region, Nepali police reported Saturday, three days after the disaster. Chinese state media confirmed seven deaths on their side, bringing the total confirmed fatalities to at least 623.

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

Rescuers in both Nepal and China are engaged in a desperate search for thousands of people still missing. A massive, tsunami-like wave of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing villages and leaving a trail of destruction. The number of missing individuals surged past 2,400 by Friday, as emergency teams recovered bodies, some of which may have been carried downstream as far as India.

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

The disaster has had a profound impact, with the Red Cross estimating that as many as 93,000 people may have been affected and describing the trauma as "enormous." The death toll is expected to rise as search efforts continue. Compounding the crisis, fears of further flooding loom large. The deluge created huge lakes, and one formation on the Tibetan side, identified as a burst dam, posed a direct threat to rescue workers, leading to a temporary suspension of operations in the hardest-hit area of Gyirong.

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The trauma of Wednesday's catastrophe has been "enormous", and as many as 93,000 people may have been affected, the Red Cross said, with the death toll expected to rise.

On the Nepali side, the military is working to extract survivors trapped in the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydropower project. However, accessing the tunnel is proving challenging due to the difficult terrain and the need to locate entry points. Many survivors have reported losing everything, facing an agonizing wait for news of loved ones and the daunting prospect of rebuilding their lives from scratch.

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a water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side