KATHMANDU (MNN); Nepal’s disaster management authorities said on Friday that at least 579 people had been killed and 1,924 remained missing following devastating flash floods and landslides that swept through parts of the country two days earlier.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the missing include 517 foreign nationals and 933 workers employed at hydropower projects along rivers hit by the massive surge of water on Wednesday morning.
Rescue teams continued digging through mud and debris in some of the worst-hit areas, but hopes of finding survivors were fading as the scale of destruction became clearer.
The floods tore through villages and mountain valleys, destroying roads, bridges and power infrastructure along a key route connecting Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet. The area is also frequented by trekkers and pilgrims.
Nepalese authorities deployed helicopters to search for survivors and deliver emergency supplies to thousands of people stranded in isolated communities. Emergency workers, assisted in some areas by sniffer dogs, continued recovering bodies carried downstream by the floodwaters.
Hundreds of Indians Still Missing
India’s Foreign Ministry said around 320 Indian nationals remained missing following the disaster. At least 400 others were reportedly stranded but safe on the Chinese side of the border, while another 96 had entered Nepal by land.
Among those rescued was Dibga Tamang, who was airlifted from the badly affected Rasuwa district to an army camp in Nuwakot along with three others.
Tamang described the devastation in heartbreaking terms, saying he had lost everyone he knew and had no one left waiting for him.
New Flood Threat from Rising Lakes
Authorities warned that the disaster could trigger another catastrophe as enormous quantities of water and debris continue to accumulate.
Nepal’s disaster management authority said a lake formed after debris blocked the Bhotekoshi River was rising and could potentially burst its natural barrier.
Across the border, Chinese authorities warned that around three million cubic metres of water — equivalent to roughly 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools — could flow into an already dammed lake over the next three days.
Chinese state media, citing the Ministry of Water Resources, reported that the lake could breach, with peak water flow expected around September 1.
China has deployed an eight-member engineering team to conduct aerial surveys and three-dimensional modelling of the barrier lake. Engineers said access to the area remained extremely difficult because the disaster had created unstable cliffs and other geological hazards.
Experts are examining the possibility of cutting a drainage channel through a lower section of the natural barrier to reduce the lake’s water level. However, the size and depth of any channel would have to be calculated according to the speed of water flow and the rate at which the lake is filling.
More Than 100 Feared Trapped in Hydropower Tunnel
Nepalese Army teams were also searching for more than 100 people believed trapped inside a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project in mountainous Rasuwa district.
India has offered to send a specialised rescue team with experience in complex Himalayan tunnel operations, including teams trained in difficult underground rescues.
Two army helicopters were dispatched to the hydropower project, but officials said rescue operations were extremely challenging because even the tunnel entrances were difficult to locate.
Families of the missing workers continued waiting anxiously for information.
Chinese Rescuers Reach Devastated Tibet Border Area
In neighbouring Tibet, Chinese rescuers reached the main area devastated by a massive mudslide at the China-Nepal border on Friday.
China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that a team of 21 rescuers became the first to reach the badly damaged Gyirong border trade hub after it was struck by a huge wall of mud and debris.
The death toll in Tibet rose to five, while 558 people remained missing, according to Chinese state media.
Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a high-level meeting on the rescue operation and warned of continuing dangers from glaciers, glacial lakes and geological disasters.
Chinese authorities later said the threat from a lake formed upstream was gradually declining, with water levels reportedly falling by around 10 metres compared with the peak recorded on August 27.
Rescuers are using drones, three-dimensional modelling, thermal imaging and manual searches to locate missing people.
China has also offered Nepal assistance in its rescue operations. Xi said Beijing was prepared to provide support and aid to Nepal to the best of its ability.
Buildings Destroyed, Families Desperate for News
Families of missing foreign nationals were meanwhile desperately searching for information.
Among those affected are dozens of Americans who were travelling in Nepal and Tibet, including a group from northern Virginia trekking towards Mount Kailash.
US President Donald Trump said Washington had offered assistance to Nepal, describing the destruction as unprecedented and saying America was prepared to provide whatever help was requested.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed solidarity with Nepal and assured Prime Minister Balendra Shah that Pakistan would provide whatever assistance was possible.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan is dispatching emergency relief assistance to support Nepal’s rescue and relief operations.
In Nepal’s Chitwan district, authorities recovered 103 bodies from the river system, according to district administrator Ganesh Aryal. The district is around 100 kilometres from the worst-hit areas around Trishuli.
With local hospitals struggling to accommodate the number of bodies, authorities have established temporary facilities and arrangements for families to identify and receive the remains of their relatives.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said all state agencies were working at full capacity, with saving lives, rescuing missing people, treating the injured and providing immediate assistance to affected families remaining the government’s top priorities.
The catastrophe represents a major challenge for Shah’s five-month-old government, although officials say Nepal has considerable experience responding to large-scale disasters, including the devastating 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people.
