Nepal flood death toll reaches 579 as 1,924 remain missing

The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Nepal has climbed to 579, while nearly 2,000 people remain missing, authorities said on Friday.

KATHMANDU: The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Nepal has climbed to 579, while nearly 2,000 people remain missing, authorities said on Friday.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that 1,924 people were still unaccounted for two days after massive floods swept through villages and valleys in the Himalayan region.

The missing include 517 foreign nationals and 933 workers involved in hydropower projects along rivers affected by the disaster.

Rescue operations continued across the worst-hit areas, with security forces using helicopters, heavy machinery, drones and sniffer dogs to search through mud and debris. Emergency supplies were also being delivered to communities cut off by damaged roads and bridges.

The floods destroyed homes, power facilities, bridges and sections of key transport routes connecting Kathmandu with Tibet.

Authorities are facing another major threat from a lake created after debris blocked the Bhotekoshi River. Officials warned that the rising water could breach the natural barrier and trigger another devastating flood.

Across the border, Chinese authorities are also monitoring a large lake formed following the disaster in Tibet. Chinese state media reported that around three million cubic metres of water could enter the already blocked lake over the next three days.

Engineers have been conducting aerial surveys and using three-dimensional modelling to assess the stability of the natural dam. Experts are considering the construction of a drainage channel to control the rising water.

China has deployed an engineering team to monitor the situation and assess the risk of another major flood.

More than 100 feared trapped in tunnel

The rescue operation has also focused on more than 100 people believed to be trapped inside a hydropower tunnel at the Trishuli 3A project in Rasuwa district.

The Nepali Army has deployed two helicopters to assist the operation. Officials said rescuers were facing serious difficulties because the entrances to the tunnel were difficult to locate following the flooding and destruction.

India has offered to send a specialised rescue team with experience in complex Himalayan tunnel operations.

Families of the missing workers continued to wait anxiously for information.

Chinese rescuers reached the main disaster-hit area near Gyirong on Friday, two days after a massive mudslide devastated the border region.

A team of 21 rescuers reached the affected area as search operations expanded. China’s reported death toll in Tibet stood at five, while hundreds remained missing.

Chinese authorities have used drones, thermal imaging and three-dimensional mapping technology to locate survivors and missing people.

Officials said the threat posed by a lake formed upstream had begun to decrease after its water level fell significantly.

Chinese President Xi Jinping directed authorities to strengthen rescue efforts and offered assistance to Nepal.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed solidarity with Nepal and offered assistance during a telephone conversation with Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan is preparing emergency relief assistance for Nepal to support rescue and relief operations.

The United States has also offered assistance. President Donald Trump described the destruction as severe and said Washington was ready to provide whatever support Nepal required.

The disaster has left thousands of families searching for missing relatives, including foreign tourists and trekkers who were in the region when the floods struck.

Nepali authorities said their immediate priorities were rescuing survivors, locating missing people, treating the injured and providing emergency assistance to affected families.