KATHMANDU: The death toll from catastrophic floods and mudslides near Nepal’s border with China has risen to 734, with 2,498 people still missing, Nepal’s disaster authority said Sunday as rescue operations entered their fifth day.
Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in Tibet, bringing the overall death toll from the disaster to 750, while 3,044 people remain unaccounted for on both sides of the border.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 8,186 people had been rescued so far, including 227 foreign nationals.
The number of missing people in Nepal increased from 2,426 reported on Saturday. The latest figure includes 589 foreign nationals and 933 workers employed on hydropower projects along rivers affected by the disaster.
Authorities in India have also recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal. The bodies are believed to belong to flood victims but have not been included in Nepal’s official death toll.
How many foreign nationals are missing in Tibet?
China said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries remain missing on the Tibetan side following the mudslide.
Officials said 104 Nepalese nationals were unaccounted for, along with 49 Indians, 33 Latvians, 18 Americans and 15 Britons. Chinese authorities said foreign missions had been notified.
The Tibetan death toll reached 16 in Gyirong County, where 546 people remain missing, according to Chinese officials.
Local police told Reuters that residents and rescue workers had moved to higher ground after water levels in the Trishuli River increased, raising concerns about further flooding.
What is China saying about the cause of the disaster?
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that scientists attributed the disaster to glacier instability linked to the long-term effects of global warming.
The collapse of a glacier on Wednesday sent large quantities of ice, rock, mud and debris down Himalayan river systems, causing widespread destruction on both sides of the border.
CCTV reported that the mudslide reached the Gyirong border crossing in six to seven minutes. Surveillance footage showed floodwaters and debris engulfing buildings as people attempted to escape.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Nepalese counterpart that the disaster was one of the most severe cross-border disasters in the region in recent years and that rescue operations faced exceptional difficulty.
China has deployed more than 2,100 emergency rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan ($32.7 million) for relief efforts.
Beijing is also providing emergency cash assistance, relief supplies, satellite and hydrological data and tunnel-rescue experts, according to Chinese state media.
Nepal and China are coordinating efforts to locate missing people, identify foreign nationals and strengthen cooperation on disaster prevention, mitigation and climate-change response.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people may have been affected by the disaster.