Photo courtesy of Anadolu
More than two weeks after a massive avalanche unleashed destructive floods and mudslides across the Nepal-China frontier, authorities are still searching for thousands of people as the confirmed death toll reaches 1,428.
Nepal has borne the brunt of the disaster, recording 1,385 fatalities and 5,130 people still missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Across the border, authorities in China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet, have reported 43 deaths while another 519 people remain unaccounted for.
The missing include 848 foreign nationals, with 587 reported missing in Nepal and 261 on the Chinese side of the border.
The catastrophe began on Aug. 26 high on Mount Langtang Lirung, where a glacial fracture at an elevation of about 5,200 meters sent ice and rock rushing down the mountain.
The avalanche gathered debris as it descended, developing into a powerful flow that swept through valleys and settlements below.
In Nepal, the destruction extended across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre districts and parts of the Kathmandu Valley, leaving communities struggling with widespread damage and a prolonged search for the missing.
The disaster also buried the Gyirong border crossing in Tibet, while the large number of people still unaccounted for means the full human toll has yet to be determined.