Nepal-China border flood death toll reaches 1,220 with 4,800 missing

Death toll climbs in Himalayan disaster

Nepalese authorities said 1,204 bodies have been recovered since massive flash floods hit the Himalayan country on Aug. 26, when a glacier on Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 meters and triggered an ice-rock avalanche that developed into a massive debris flow. At least 16 people have been killed on the Chinese side of the border in the Tibet Autonomous Region, while 301 people were injured in Nepal and around 4,216 remained missing there, according to Wednesday's reports from Nepalese and Chinese agencies.

Around 900 personnel deployed at several hydropower stations across Nepal remain missing, authorities in Kathmandu said, adding that 11,993 people have been rescued from the flood-hit areas while 21,314 security personnel — including army and police — have been mobilized to assist ongoing search and rescue operations. Approximately 1.6 million people have been affected by the disaster in Nepal, they noted.

Access restored to Tibet mudslide zone

On the Chinese side, 546 people remained missing as of Wednesday, including 261 foreigners, according to Xinhua News Agency. Road access to the core area of the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in Tibet — which China designates as the Xizang Autonomous Region — was restored on Wednesday after days of round-the-clock repair work on the damaged highway, the Beijing-based outlet reported.

Rescue teams, relief supplies, and heavy equipment have now entered the core rescue area via the repaired road, Xinhua said, adding that Chinese authorities have dispatched experts, drones, DNA testing devices and reagents, water-purification equipment, and lighting gear to the disaster zone. The glacier collapse sent a huge surge of water and mudslides through valleys along the border, devastating Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Kavre, and the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal while burying the Gyirong border crossing in southwestern Tibet.

International rescue teams arrive

A 44-member Korea Disaster Relief Team from South Korea reached Nepal on Wednesday to help locate missing people, including at least nine South Koreans among the disappeared. India has also sent DNA analysis experts to assist with victim identification efforts, Nepalese authorities said.

The international assistance comes as search operations continue across both nations for nearly 4,800 missing people, including 844 foreigners. The disaster struck on Aug. 26 when the ice-rock avalanche swept through valleys along the Nepal-China border, devastating multiple districts in Nepal and burying the Gyirong border crossing in Tibet.