Authorities said on Sunday that the death toll from the devastating glacier-related disaster had climbed to 750, while more than 3,000 people remained missing on both sides of the Nepal-China border.
A massive surge of ice, rocks, mud and debris swept through mountain valleys and river channels on Wednesday, leaving widespread destruction across the Himalayan region. The Red Cross estimated that more than 90,000 people had been affected by the disaster, which China attributed to the long-term impacts of climate change.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Nepali counterpart during a telephone conversation on Saturday that the disaster was among the two countries’ “most severe cross-border” disasters in recent years. He also described the rescue operation as unprecedented in terms of difficulty and complexity, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Nepal’s disaster management authorities said 734 people had been killed, 2,498 were still missing and 7,514 had been rescued. In China’s Gyirong County, officials reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing.
Beijing also said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries remained unaccounted for in Tibet near a major border crossing with Nepal.
The rugged Himalayan terrain and deteriorating weather conditions have made rescue efforts increasingly difficult.
Nepalese police told Reuters that residents and rescuers had moved to higher ground after the Trishuli River rose following fresh rainfall, heightening fears of further flooding.
Rescue operations have been repeatedly suspended since Friday due to adverse weather and concerns over a lake formed near the Nepal-China border. Authorities feared the lake could overflow and trigger additional flooding in Nepal’s Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers.
CCTV reported that the threatening lake had largely drained by Saturday evening. However, drones later detected a landslide about 2.8 kilometres downstream, creating a new natural dam and another water pool.
In Nepal, rescue teams have increasingly focused on hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside tunnels at hydropower facilities damaged by the floods.
Nepalese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said the country needed international assistance in specialised areas, including tunnel rescues, DNA testing, refrigerated storage for bodies and forensic identification of badly decomposed remains.
Indian and Chinese experts were already assisting local teams in clearing tunnels and supporting rescue operations, Chhetri said.
With relatives continuing to search hospitals, morgues and relief centres for missing family members, Nepalese authorities have begun burying hundreds of unidentified victims whose bodies had started to decompose.
In Chitwan district, bodies swept downstream from the worst-hit Rasuwa region have been carried through the river system into the Narayani River.
Officials are photographing the remains, collecting DNA samples and documenting identifying information to help families establish the identities of their loved ones even after burial.
“Of the bodies we have recovered so far, more than half are beyond recognition,” police officer Anil Thapa told Reuters.
He said some bodies had no recognisable faces, while in several cases only limbs or fragments of the victims remained.
Authorities buried more than 100 unidentified bodies on Saturday and were preparing additional graves on Sunday for hundreds more.
China said the disaster was linked to glacier instability caused by the long-term effects of global warming.
CCTV described the phenomenon as an emerging feature of cryosphere-related disasters on the Tibetan plateau.
According to Chinese scientists cited by the broadcaster, the mudslide originating on the Nepalese side reached the Gyirong border crossing within six to seven minutes.
Dramatic surveillance footage showed torrents of water and debris sweeping through buildings as residents fled the area.
China has deployed more than 2,100 rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan ($32.7 million) for relief efforts, CCTV reported. Authorities have also been airlifting equipment and supplies to rescue teams, while soldiers are using life-detection equipment to search for survivors and missing people.
