Death Toll Rises Above 270 in Nepal-Tibet Flood, Over 1,000 Still Missing
Helicopters and more than 5,000 rescue personnel are searching devastated Himalayan valleys as Nepal warns the death toll will exceed 270 and more than 1,000 people remain missing across Nepal and Tibet.
The death toll from catastrophic Himalayan flash floods was expected to rise beyond 270 on Thursday as rescuers searched for more than 1,000 people missing across Nepal and Tibet.
Helicopters were deployed over isolated valleys and towns after a collapse of ice, rock and mud surged into a mountain river on Wednesday, sending a destructive torrent downstream through the Nepal-Tibet border region.
Nepalese police said dozens of bodies had been carried into the plains, where recovery operations were continuing.
More than 5,000 army and police personnel had joined the search.
More Than 1,000 Still Missing
The scale of the missing remained uncertain, particularly in Nepal, where authorities had yet to establish how many local residents were unaccounted for.
More than 650 foreign nationals remained missing in Nepal despite rescue teams locating 100 Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers around badly hit Trishuli.
In Tibet's Gyirong county, 558 people were missing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The figure included 260 foreign nationals.
China reported three deaths in Tibet.
The missing foreigners across the two regions came from more than two dozen countries. They included another 288 Indians, 63 Americans, 51 Malaysians, 34 Australians, 33 Britons and 25 Canadians.
Nepal's Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said the immediate priority remained finding survivors.
Bodies Carried Into the Plains
The destructive force of the flood was evident far downstream.
Ganesh Aryal, administrator of Chitwan district, said 103 bodies had been recovered from the river system there, roughly 100 km from the worst-hit area around Trishuli.
Local hospitals did not have sufficient capacity for the bodies, forcing authorities to erect tents and prepare for relatives arriving to identify victims.
Unidentified bodies would be sent for DNA testing, Aryal said.
The Nepalese army said rescue teams retrieved 125 people on Thursday, including 20 foreign nationals. Helicopters were also delivering tents, food and emergency supplies to communities cut off by the destruction.
Survivors Describe Sudden Torrent
Keshav Prasad Baral, 68, said the flood struck with little opportunity to escape.
"It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us," he said while receiving treatment at a Nepalese hospital.
Baral said he tried to reach higher ground with his wife as mud entered their home, but she was swept away.
"My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud," he said. "She's gone."
Destruction Across the Border
Verified videos showed large volumes of water and debris sweeping through the border crossing at Gyirong, carrying people away.
Homes, roads and power projects were destroyed downstream in Nepal.
China said it was maintaining close contact with Nepal over rescue operations, with nearly 100 Chinese nationals in the affected area on the Nepalese side of the frontier.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang traveled to Gyirong on Thursday afternoon, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah traveled by road to assess conditions in Nuwakot, one of the worst-affected districts.
Dammed Lake Adds to Risk
Rescue operations also faced a further threat upstream.
Chinese authorities identified risks from a dammed lake in Gyirong as forecasts pointed to additional rain.
The lake contained an estimated 2 million cubic meters of water on Thursday morning and was already overflowing, according to state media citing China's water resources ministry.
Another 3 million cubic meters could flow into it over the following three days, creating a high risk of a breach.
Initial assessments from Nepalese officials had suggested an earthquake could have triggered a glacier collapse.
The U.S. Geological Survey later said seismic activity initially reported as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake was instead energy produced by collapsing glacial rock and ice, followed by a debris flow.
Pilgrims Among the Missing
Many of those caught in the disaster had been traveling toward Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, a high-altitude pilgrimage destination revered by Hindus and Buddhists.
The road hit by the flood links Kathmandu with Lhasa and was carrying trekkers and pilgrims when the disaster struck.
Sagar Pandey, chief executive of a Himalayan tourism operator, described extensive destruction after flying over the affected area.
"There are no human-made things, no human settlement left. Everything is just flat," he said.
Relatives in several countries were waiting for information about missing family members as international assistance began arriving.
India, the United States, Canada, and the United Nations said they were providing assistance or monitoring the disaster, while U.N. teams sent personnel and supplies to affected communities.
