Rescue teams are working to reach around 100 hydropower workers believed to be trapped inside several tunnels in Nepal’s Rasuwa district.
Rescuers battled mud, debris and treacherous terrain as the death toll from devastating flash floods in Nepal and Tibet climbed to more than 950, with over 4,400 people still missing — as the disaster entered its second week with no end to the crisis in sight.
The floods, triggered by a glacial collapse near the China-Nepal border, sent a huge surge of water, rocks and debris through villages and towns last Wednesday. At least 17 bodies have also been recovered from rivers downstream in India.
Rescue Teams Race To Reach Trapped Workers
Rescue teams are working to reach around 100 hydropower workers believed to be trapped inside several tunnels in Nepal’s Rasuwa district.
Three bodies have so far been recovered from two tunnels, while mud and debris have blocked access to the affected areas. An Indian Army officer involved in the tunnel rescue operation said teams were digging through thick sludge but remained hopeful of finding survivors.
Nepal has deployed around 20,600 personnel for rescue and relief operations, while more than 3,100 people have been rescued from affected areas.
The scale of the disaster has left entire communities devastated, with roads destroyed, bridges swept away and power plants damaged.
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called the disaster as “unimaginable and heartbreaking”.
Bodies Recovered As Families Search For Missing
With mortuaries overwhelmed, Nepal has begun burying unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples so they can potentially be identified and returned to families later.
Relatives have been gathering at community centres to look at images of recovered bodies in the hope of finding missing loved ones. Nepal has also appealed for international assistance, saying it needs more than 1,000 freezer units to store bodies.
Among those listed as missing in Nepal are 592 foreigners, including trekkers and Hindu pilgrims travelling to Tibet’s Mount Kailash.
In Tibet, China has reported 16 deaths and 546 missing people. More than 2,000 personnel are involved in rescue operations there, but access to the disaster’s epicentre remains difficult.
Tibetan advocacy groups have questioned China’s casualty figures and called for more information. Beijing has rejected claims that it is underreporting deaths, saying the release of information has been “open, transparent and timely”.
