Nearly 5,000 still missing in Nepal

KATHMANDU: The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal surged to 1,355 on Monday as more bodies were recovered from the affected areas, authorities said.

Rescue teams continued to search for 4,996 people, including at least 589 foreign nationals, who remain missing, while 13,396 people have been rescued so far, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.

According to NDRRMA, 363 bodies have been recovered from Chitwan district, 221 from Nawalparasi West, 222 from Nawalparasi East and 197 from Nuwakot.

Similarly, 169 bodies were recovered from Rasuwa, 75 from Gorkha, 70 from Dhading and 38 from Tanahu, it said. The joint command of security forces is actively conducting search and rescue operations.

Major rescue operations are underway at hydropower projects in flood-affected districts, where hundreds of men are believed to be trapped in tunnels. Teams of experts from India and China are assisting their Nepali counterparts in these operations.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal.

The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects. The disaster also killed at least 21 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.