On Sunday, Nepalese and Chinese rescue teams hurried to find thousands still unaccounted for after a glacier collapse triggered a massive mudslide sweeping the Himalayas, while contending with severe dangerous weather and increasing river levels.
Death toll rises on both sides of the border
By Sunday morning, officials confirmed that 750 people had lost their lives, with over 3,000 still unaccounted for along the Nepal-China border. This followed a devastating surge of ice, rocks, mud, and debris that tore through mountain valleys and rivers on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction.
The Red Cross has estimated that more than 90,000 people are likely to have been affected by the disaster, which China has linked to the effects of climate change.
During a phone conversation on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi informed his Nepalese counterpart that the mudslide represented their most critical cross-border crisis in recent memory. He noted that rescue efforts had become exceptionally challenging and detailed, as reported by state media CCTV.
Nepal’s disaster management agency reported 734 fatalities, 2,498 missing persons, and 7,514 rescues. In China, officials stated that 16 people died in Gyirong County, with 546 still missing.
Beijing announced that 261 foreigners from 23 nations were missing in Tibet, close to a major border crossing with Nepal.
Weather halts work as new dangers emerge
The disaster’s magnitude has hindered rescue operations across the challenging Himalayan environment. Nepalese police informed Reuters that locals and rescuers had relocated to higher elevations due to rising water levels in the Trishuli River, triggered by recent rainfall, heightening fears of additional flooding.
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Rescue missions have been repeatedly halted since Friday due to severe weather and concerns about a newly formed lake on the Nepal-China border, which began overflowing into Nepal’s Lhende Khola and Trishuli Rivers, posing further flood risks.
CCTV reported that the lake, which threatened downstream areas, had been mostly drained by Saturday evening. However, drones later detected a landslide 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) downstream, creating a new barrier and water accumulation.
In Nepal, rescue teams are increasingly focusing on hundreds believed trapped in tunnels at flood-damaged hydropower plants. Lok Bahadur Chhetri, a Nepalese foreign ministry spokesperson, stated that Nepal needs international aid for specialized tasks, including tunnel rescues, DNA analysis, body preservation, and forensic identification of decomposed remains. Experts from India and China are already assisting with tunnel access and rescue efforts, according to Chhetri.
Burial of unidentified remains begins
Days after families desperately searched hospitals, morgues, and relief centers for their loved ones, Nepalese authorities initiated mass burials of hundreds of unidentified victims whose bodies had begun to decompose.
“Of the bodies we have recovered so far, more than half are beyond recognition,” police officer Anil Thapa told Reuters.
“Many have no visible faces. In some cases, only hands or legs remain; in others, only parts of the body are available. In many cases, more than half of the head is missing.”
After burying more than 100 unidentified bodies on Saturday, authorities were digging additional graves on Sunday for hundreds more.