Photo courtesy of Anadolu
The combined death toll from flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border has climbed above 1,000, a week after a glacier collapse triggered widespread destruction across the Himalayas.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 84 more deaths had been confirmed, raising the toll on the Nepalese side to 987. Another 3,916 people remained missing, including 583 foreign nationals.
Among those unaccounted for were 639 personnel assigned to hydropower stations affected by the disaster.
Chinese authorities, meanwhile, reported 16 deaths and 546 missing people, including 261 foreigners.
Figures from both countries brought the combined toll to 1,003, with about 4,462 people still missing. At least 844 of those unaccounted for were foreign nationals.
The disaster began on Aug. 26 when part of a glacier on Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal fractured at an elevation of about 5,200 meters. The collapse triggered an ice-and-rock avalanche that developed into a powerful debris flow through communities along the border.
Floodwaters and mudslides devastated parts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Kavre and the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. On the Chinese side, the Gyirong border crossing in Tibet was buried by debris.
Indian nationals made up the largest group of missing foreigners, with 275 reported unaccounted for, while 100 Chinese nationals were also listed as missing.
As the number of recovered bodies continued to rise, Nepal requested freezers, DNA testing kits, drones and remote-sensing equipment to assist identification and map hard-hit areas.
China, South Korea and India have deployed teams to support search and rescue operations.
Damaged roads, rugged terrain and disrupted infrastructure continued to slow access to isolated communities. Chinese state media reported that some rescue teams had to walk for about 10 hours to reach the Gyirong border crossing, where they found extensive destruction and little remaining infrastructure.