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Catastrophic floods and a landslide caused by a glacier on the China-Nepal border have killed at least 1,254 people in Nepal, according to the country's disaster authority. This brings the total number of deaths in both countries to 1,275.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority shared on social media that over 4,000 people are still missing in the affected districts, and search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
The agency reported that more than 20,000 security personnel have been sent to help, and 11,993 people have been rescued so far.
Chinese state media confirmed 21 deaths in the Tibet Autonomous Region in western China and reported 541 people missing there. This brings the total number of missing people in both countries to 4,757.
Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told CBS News that officials are worried the death toll may keep rising as search and rescue teams continue their work in Rasuwa, a mountainous district on the border with China.
He said rescue teams are helping everyone equally, whether they are Nepali or foreign nationals, and described the effort as driven by humanitarian values.
Nearly 600 foreigners from over 30 countries are still missing, with Indian citizens making up one of the largest groups. The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that 75 Americans are also unaccounted for.
In Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, relatives of missing foreigners said they are searching hospitals and morgues for news about their loved ones. Sanjeev Rai, a 53-year-old American who came to Nepal after his wife disappeared, said waiting for information has been very hard.
The floods hit mountain districts on Aug. 26, destroying roads, bridges, and other infrastructure and making relief efforts harder.
Aid agencies said they might use porters, who have long helped with trekking and mountaineering in Nepal, to deliver supplies to hard-hit areas near the Chinese border.
Lila Pieters Yahia, the U.N. resident coordinator for Nepal, said discussions with the government included using helicopters and cargo drones, alongside porters, to speed up aid deliveries.
Nepali army personnel and rescue teams, including foreign experts, continued searching on Thursday for survivors who may be trapped in several hydropower tunnels. They are using excavators and other heavy equipment.
The U.S. Geological Survey said a magnitude-5.2 seismic event recorded before the floods was linked to a glacier collapse in the region, updating its earlier assessment that an earthquake had preceded the disaster.
Experts at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, headquartered in Kathmandu, said an avalanche triggered the flooding after glacier fragments broke off in the mountainous area.
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