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The number of people missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border has risen to 4,793, including foreigners from 34 different countries, with the confirmed death toll now at 919, authorities said Monday.
Officials in both countries cautioned that the figures remain fluid, which is common in the chaotic aftermath of a major disaster.
In Nepal, the missing include 933 workers employed on hydropower projects, 45 soldiers from the Nepali army, 38 police and armed police officers, and 18 customs and immigration officers.
The hardest-hit district, Nuwakot, alone accounts for at least 1,158 unaccounted-for residents. Nepal's disaster agency said Monday that 592 foreign nationals remain unaccounted for, though it did not break the figure down by nationality. CCTV reported separately that 104 Nepali nationals were missing on the Tibetan side of the border.
In neighboring India, authorities said they had recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing out of Nepal, believed to be flood victims, though these deaths have not yet been added to the official toll pending identification.
The disaster's reach extends well beyond the two countries where it struck. China's foreign ministry said Thursday that nearly 100 Chinese nationals were among the missing in Nepal, while the Nepal Tourism Board separately put the figure at eight, noting that 16 Chinese citizens had already been rescued.
India's foreign ministry said Saturday that 275 of its citizens were missing, along with 128 additional persons of Indian origin, while roughly 900 Indian nationals stranded on the Chinese side of the border were reported safe and reachable. CCTV said an additional 49 Indian nationals were missing in Tibet.
Among Western nations, the United States reported the largest number of missing citizens: the State Department said Sunday that about 85 Americans were unaccounted for, nine of whom had since been rescued, adding it was not aware of any US deaths.
Eighteen more U.S. citizens were reported missing on the Tibetan side. The Nepal Tourism Board had earlier put the American figure at 65 missing and two rescued.
European nations also reported significant numbers. Ukraine's embassy in Nepal said it had lost contact with 62 citizens, revising an earlier figure upward by six, while the Nepal Tourism Board separately listed 61 Ukrainians missing; one more was reported missing in Tibet.
The United Kingdom reported 33 citizens missing in Nepal and 15 in Tibet. Latvia reported 29 missing in Nepal, a number that swelled to 33 according to Chinese state media's tally for Tibet.
Canada's foreign ministry said 30 of its citizens were missing across both Nepal and Tibet, while six more were reported missing in Tibet by CCTV.
Southeast Asian and other nations also reported missing citizens. Malaysia said 51 of its nationals were unaccounted for in Nepal, with three more missing in Tibet.
Australia reported 42 citizens missing. South Korea's foreign ministry said it had lost contact with nine hydropower workers, a figure matching the Nepal Tourism Board's count of missing South Korean tourists.
Singapore reported nine missing, Germany reported eight in Nepal and three in Tibet, and Russia reported nine missing and two rescued in Nepal, with three more missing in Tibet.
A longer list of countries reported smaller numbers of missing citizens, including South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, France, Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Finland, Israel, Lithuania, the Philippines, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Vietnam and Estonia, according to figures from the Nepal Tourism Board and Chinese state media.
In several cases, the two sources gave differing counts for the same nationality, underscoring the difficulty authorities face in verifying the whereabouts of those affected as search operations continue.
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