Nepal-China floods: Death toll passes 1,000 as hundreds still trapped in tunnels

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Nepal and China passed 1,000 on Tuesday, authorities said, as rescue teams worked to reach communities cut off by the disaster.

Nepal’s disaster agency said on Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted there, with 3,916 people missing, including 583 foreigners. Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths in their most recent update on Sunday.

Nepalese authorities said among those unaccounted for are more than 30 British nationals, while Chinese state media on Sunday said 15 people from Britain were among 261 missing foreigners.

It is unclear how many are included in the Nepal figures.

At least 11,814 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepalese authorities. No Britons were thought to be among the foreign nationals reported rescued.

Emergency crews have been using helicopters and other aircraft to reach stranded communities in areas where roads and bridges have been destroyed by the flooding and landslides.

Wednesday’s flash floods started after a glacial collapse high in the Himalayan region. The rocks and melted water then swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing a torrent of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.

Authorities in Nepal have warned of possible fresh flooding and urged residents to remain on high alert after water levels of a river running along the Tibetan border rose again on Sunday.

Flood warning notices were sent to people’s phones as rescue crews worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst hit by Wednesday’s catastrophic floods.

Authorities are still searching for thousands of people who remain unaccounted for on Tuesday. Rescue teams are also working to provide assistance to survivors in areas where roads and other transportation routes have been damaged or cut off.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are believed to be trapped inside tunnels. / Credit: AP

For rescuers, the immediate priority remains finding at least 900 workers who are missing from 12 hydropower projects damaged by the flash floods, about 500 of whom are believed to be trapped inside tunnels.

It’s not clear how many of those workers were inside the deep and heavily reinforced tunnels when the water hit.

It’s also unclear how many of them may still be alive, with search and rescue efforts complicated by poor weather, mud, and the loss of critical infrastructure like roads and bridges.

Visuals released by Nepal’s army showed rescue teams entering dark, debris-filled tunnels, wading through mud and water and climbing over rocks as they searched for signs of life.

The missing hydropower workers are among roughly 4,500 people who remain unaccounted for in Nepal and China after the disastrous flooding. / Credit: AP

Bimal Sharma, a helicopter pilot who has been flying rescue missions since the disaster began, said he was shocked to see the devastation in Timure, a border town close to Tibet that he has known for years.

“It felt like I was flying over an entirely different landscape,” he said.

Sharma said he has had little opportunity to speak with the people he rescued, but their expressions told him how deeply the disaster had affected them.

“I can see the pain in their eyes. It’s heartbreaking,” he said.