Nearly 2,500 missing as Nepal, China step up flood rescue efforts

Nearly 2,500 people are missing after flash floods devastated a mountainous region between Nepal and China, with authorities on both sides of the border intensifying rescue efforts.

At least 579 people have been confirmed dead while 1,924 remain unaccounted for, including hundreds of foreigners from India, Malaysia, Australia and the US, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in a post on X. That’s almost double its previous estimate of the missing. China said its death toll stood at seven, with 554 missing, according to state broadcaster CGTN.

The catastrophe was triggered on Wednesday by a glacial collapse that sent ice, mud, rocks and fast-moving water surging through a valley in Nepal, destroying entire settlements in their path. Videos showed people attempting to flee as walls of water and debris swallowed buildings, tore down bridges and washed away trees, boulders and vehicles.

Nepal has mobilized about 15,000 personnel for challenging rescue missions, including in settlements steeped in sludge and at hydropower projects where workers have been trapped in tunnels. The military has “intensified its operations” and “deployed special teams and is actively collecting bodies at a rapid pace,” the prime minister’s office said on social media.

Chinese search and rescue teams conducted “detailed surveys and grid-like searches of key areas” at Gyirong Port, Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday. Footage of the area being wiped out in the deluge has circulated widely online.

President Xi Jinping said on Friday his country was making every effort to rescue missing people, resettle affected residents, treat the injured, minimize casualties and prevent secondary disasters, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.

Rescue efforts in the remote region have been hampered by tough terrain and the risk of further flooding as rivers clogged with mud and debris formed new, unstable lakes upstream. Experts were closely monitoring such lakes, some of which were quickly filling with water that could breach the banks in an uncontrolled manner.

Authorities urged residents along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers to “remain in safe locations” due to signs of increased flooding late on Friday.

Separately, Prime Minister Balendra Shah denied reports Nepal had rejected foreign aid, saying the government was coordinating with India, China and others. The 36-year-old premier, who rose to power this year on a wave of Gen Z anger, faces a daunting reconstruction effort at a time when Nepal’s economy is being squeezed by higher fuel costs, weaker tourism and slowing growth in the wake of the Iran war.

The country will need at least “a few billion dollars” to recover from the devastation, prompting the $45 billion economy to seek international funding, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday.

Dozens of bridges, an 80-kilometer (50-mile) stretch of road leading to the border with China, and about 700 megawatts of either operating or installed hydropower capacity had been impacted by the disaster, he said.

India sent three flights with relief supplies and an 11-member medical and tunnel rescue team, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on social media. New Delhi has also offered to send specialized disaster-relief teams and build Bailey bridges — portable and prefabricated truss bridges — to restore connectivity, he added.