Missing toll nears 3,000 as Nepal, China race to find flood survivors
Rescue teams in Nepal and China are searching for nearly 3,000 people still missing after a glacial collapse triggered devastating floods, with 682 bodies recovered so far.
A glacial collapse on Wednesday near the Nepal-Tibet border unleashed a torrent of water, ice and debris that swept away entire villages across the Himalayan region. Authorities in both countries say nearly 3,000 people remain unaccounted for, while 682 bodies have been recovered. Some victims may have been carried as far as India, where seven bodies have already been pulled from rivers.
On Saturday, Nepal's army managed to insert a pipe into a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower site, where workers are believed trapped. Home Minister Sudan Gurung said air was already being pumped through the small opening and that excavation would begin next. More than 100 workers may still be alive inside the Trishuli 3A and 3B tunnels.
The US Geological Survey attributed the disaster to a glacial collapse. While the precise trigger remains unclear, climate change is accelerating glacier melt worldwide, raising the likelihood of such events. UN climate chief Simon Steill said the disaster underscores how fragile mountain ecosystems are, and warned that a warming climate driven by fossil fuel use is making such tragedies more frequent and severe.
Search continues
Nepal's disaster authority said the missing include 933 hydropower workers and 517 foreigners, among them trekkers and pilgrims heading to Tibet's Mount Kailash. The Isha Foundation, founded by Indian guru Sadhguru, said a group of 80 people had been travelling near Gyirong, a border town it described as completely washed away, adding there were no encouraging signs of survivors there.
Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal estimated reconstruction costs could reach billions of dollars and appealed for international help, including heavy-lift drones, detection technology, forensic testing kits and refrigeration units for bodies.
Concerns about further flooding are complicating rescue efforts, as the flood created new glacial lakes, one of which poses an ongoing risk. Nepali and Chinese foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to share satellite and hydrological data. Rescue work in Gyirong was briefly halted over fears of another lake outburst, though Chinese state media later reported the lake was draining naturally and nearly emptied.
Nepal reported 675 confirmed deaths as of Saturday, while Tibet recorded seven deaths with 554 people still missing. Many families continue to wait anxiously for word of missing relatives, with some losing hope of finding them alive.
