The death toll from the major floods along the Nepal-Tibet border has risen to 682, with nearly 3,000 people missing, while damage estimates may reach several billion U.S. dollars.
Foreign news agencies reported that rescue teams in Nepal and China continued intensive searches for thousands of missing people on Saturday, 29 Aug 2026 GMT+7, after a massive surge of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing several villages days earlier.
Nepalese authorities confirmed 675 deaths and over 2,426 missing, including 933 hydropower workers and 517 foreigners. Meanwhile, Chinese media reported 7 deaths and 554 missing on the Tibetan side, with more than 1,000 tourists and residents evacuated.
Indian authorities reported finding 7 bodies floating along a river connected to Nepal.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stated that this catastrophic flood was caused by a glacier collapse into a mountain river on the Tibet-Nepal border, sending massive water, mud, and debris surging downstream rapidly, resembling a tsunami.
The glacier collapse also formed a new mountain lake, posing a risk that its earthen dam could break, causing another devastating flood surge.
Nepalese officials are working amid muddy, hazardous conditions, attempting to tunnel into the Trishuli 3A hydropower project to rescue about 100 trapped workers, aided by high-altitude rescue experts and Indian tunnel rescue teams.
In China, rescue operations in the heavily affected Gyirong area have been temporarily suspended due to the risk of a secondary flash flood.
The Nepal Red Cross estimates that approximately 93,000 people have been affected by the floods. Nepal's Foreign Minister, Mr. Chisir Kanal, assessed that damages could reach several billion U.S. dollars and has appealed for international assistance with equipment and technology to accelerate the search for victims.
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Source:cna