Published : 30 Aug 2026, 05:23 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:37 AM
The death toll from the horrific flash flood in Nepal and Tibet has risen to 750 as authorities warn search and rescue teams of rising waters in the area, The Guardian reports. More than 3,000 people are still missing.
On Sunday, Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing, of whom 261 were foreign nationals. Nepali officials have confirmed 734 deaths, and 2,948 people missing.
China’s state broadcaster said the foreign nationals included 104 Nepali citizens, 49 from India, 33 from Latvia, 18 from the US and 15 from the UK.
Nepal says it has rescued more than 3,700 people so far.
“We have received information that the flood flow in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa has increased further,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in a warning issued at 7:20am. It urged rescue workers to proceed with caution.
In a breakthrough on Saturday, the Nepali army has been able to insert a pipe into a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric site where workers are believed to be trapped.
Nepal’s home minister Sudan Gurung said: “We have already started sending air through the small opening, and we will now begin excavation work and send the rescue team inside.”
Authorities say more than 100 workers may still be alive inside the tunnels, with rescue efforts focused on the Trishuli 3A and 3B sites.
The area affected by the floods in Nepal hosts massive energy infrastructure projects. The disaster authority says 933 hydropower workers are among the missing.
Foreign minister Shishir Khanal said the country’s reconstruction bill could tick up to “billions of dollars”.
“The urgency is on rescue and saving lives as much as we can,” he said, asking for specialised assistance such as heavy-lift drones and technology to help locate those trapped.
Meanwhile, survivors are waiting to learn the fate of missing family members while confronting the possibility of rebuilding their lives from scratch.
