Nepal Flood Death Toll Rises to at Least 682; Rescue Efforts Hampered by Mud

The death toll from a devastating flash flood in the Nepal-Tibet border region has climbed to at least 682, Nepalese authorities reported Saturday. Rescue teams are battling extremely challenging conditions as they search for survivors and the missing in the aftermath of the disaster.

On the Chinese side of the border, in Tibet, seven deaths have been confirmed. Rescue efforts in Nepal are particularly focused on freeing over 100 individuals trapped in a tunnel at a hydropower plant in the Rasuwa district. A specialized rescue team from neighboring India has been deployed to assist in these critical operations.

Nepal has appealed for international assistance, with Chinese rescue forces reportedly en route. The scale of the disaster is immense, with over 3,500 people still unaccounted for. The flood is thought to have been caused by the collapse of a glacial lake, sending an avalanche of ice and debris down a 5,000-meter slope.

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People want their family members back, dead or alive, but we cannot find them.

Rescue worker Kawan Koirala described the conditions as "very difficult," noting the presence of thick, deep mud that resembles quicksand. "People want their family members back, dead or alive, but we cannot find them," he told AFP, conveying the immense frustration and sorrow of the situation. He added, "This is the first time I have seen anything like this. There is mud everywhere. We have experienced floods in Nepal before, but not like this."

The tsunami-like mud wave is so vast that national disaster authorities suspect it may have carried deceased individuals as far as India. The initial glacial collapse was so powerful that its sound was registered as a 5.2 magnitude earthquake. Norway has pledged 10 million Norwegian kroner in emergency aid.

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This is the first time I have seen anything like this. There is mud everywhere. We have experienced floods in Nepal before, but not like this.