Death toll climbs to 1,442 in Nepal-China border floods, 5,700 missing

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on Tuesday that the death toll from last month's catastrophic flash floods and mudslides at the Nepal-China border has climbed to 1,442, with rescuers recovering 14 additional bodies from the flood-hit areas. The agency stated that 1,399 bodies have been recovered from Nepalese territories alone, while 5,179 individuals are still missing there.

Authorities have rescued 13,742 people and deployed 21,022 security personnel for ongoing search, rescue and relief operations. Among the missing in Nepal are 587 foreign tourists, officials said, adding that the figure remains subject to verification and may include unidentified bodies already recovered or individuals since rescued.

Cross-border devastation

On the Chinese side, the death toll stands at 43, with 519 people still missing in Tibet — which Beijing designates as the Xizang autonomous region — including 261 foreign nationals. The catastrophe struck on August 26 when a glacier on Nepal's Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of 5,200 meters (17,060 feet), triggering an ice-rock avalanche that transformed into a massive debris flow.

Floodwaters and mudslides subsequently swept through valleys along the border, devastating Nepal's Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre districts as well as the Kathmandu Valley. The torrent also buried the Gyirong border crossing in Xizang under tons of rock and ice, cutting off a key trade and transit point between the two nations.