Hundreds are dead and thousands remain missing after a massive flood and debris surge swept through Himalayan communities in Nepal and Tibet, leaving rescuers racing against time to find survivors.
Rescue teams in Nepal and China were still searching Saturday for thousands of people reported missing after a devastating surge of water, ice, mud and debris swept through parts of the Himalayas, destroying settlements and cutting off communities from the outside world.
The number of people reported missing in Nepal and Tibet has risen to nearly 3,000, according to the latest figures released by authorities in the two countries. At least 633 bodies have been recovered, while concerns have grown that some victims may have been carried downstream into India.
The disaster struck with extraordinary force, leaving villages and infrastructure along river valleys badly damaged. Survivors described scenes of destruction in which homes, vehicles and other structures were swept away within minutes.
Nepal’s disaster authorities added 933 hydropower workers to the country’s missing persons list, underscoring the scale of the impact on the region’s extensive energy infrastructure.
The missing include workers at hydropower projects, local residents, foreign tourists and people travelling to Tibet on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, one of the region’s most important religious sites.
For families waiting for news, the uncertainty has been devastating.
“All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left,” survivor Buddhi Ram Dangol told AFP.
Samjhana Thing said she had spent three days waiting for information about her missing brother.
“We don’t know anything. Hopefully he is in a safe place,” she said.
Thousands affected by catastrophe
The scale of the disaster has overwhelmed many communities and placed enormous pressure on emergency services.
The Red Cross said the trauma caused by the catastrophe had been enormous and estimated that as many as 93,000 people could have been affected. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise further as rescuers gain access to areas that remain isolated.
Emergency teams have been working to locate survivors, recover bodies and deliver food and drinking water to communities cut off by the floods.
In some locations, however, the rescue operation itself has become dangerous.
The massive volume of water, ice and mud that swept through the mountain valleys caused new lakes and temporary water bodies to form. These formations raised concerns that further flooding could occur and threaten both residents and rescue workers.
Nepali police issued an urgent warning to rescuers after receiving information that another water dam had burst on the Tibetan side of the border.
Police urged emergency teams to immediately move to safer locations while authorities assessed the risk.
The warning highlighted the unpredictable conditions facing rescuers in an already difficult environment, where damaged roads, blocked tunnels, unstable slopes and rapidly changing water levels have complicated access to affected areas.
China suspends rescue operation in worst hit area
On the Chinese side of the border, authorities suspended rescue operations in the hardest hit area of Gyirong in Tibet because of concerns over renewed flooding.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the principal source of information from the affected Tibetan areas, later reported that the immediate threat had eased.
Xinhua also reported early Saturday that two villagers had been rescued in the area.
Seven people have been confirmed dead in Tibet, while another 554 remain missing, according to the agency.
Chinese authorities said they had evacuated 555 stranded tourists and 499 Chinese residents from affected areas.
The limited access available to foreign journalists in Tibet has meant that information about the scale of the destruction there has largely come through official Chinese statements.
The situation has made it difficult to independently assess the full extent of the damage and determine how many people may still be trapped in isolated locations.
Hydropower projects among hardest hit
Some of the most challenging rescue operations have taken place around hydropower projects along Nepal’s Trishuli valley.
The region contains major energy infrastructure projects and large numbers of workers, many of whom were caught in the sudden flooding.
Nepal’s military located people trapped inside a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project and began efforts to reach them.
Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said two helicopters had been sent to support the operation, but rescuers faced enormous difficulties locating the entrances to the tunnels.
“Two helicopters have been dispatched, but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel,” Basnet told AFP.
About 350 workers and residents had been brought to safety from the site, he said, while efforts continued to reach more than 100 people believed to be trapped in the same area.
Workers rescued from other hydropower projects described how quickly the disaster unfolded.
Buddha Tamang, who worked at one of the dams, said he survived because he happened to be inside a tunnel when the flood struck.
“The senior officers working on the other side, they were all swept away,” Tamang told AFP.
He was airlifted to safety on Thursday after spending more than 24 hours stranded.
His account illustrated the narrow margin between survival and death for people working near the river when the wall of water and debris arrived.
Nepal reports hundreds dead
Nepal reported a death toll of 626 people on Saturday.
Authorities said 2,426 people remained out of contact in the country, including hundreds of foreigners.
The figures include people who may have been killed, injured, stranded or unable to communicate with relatives. Authorities have continued efforts to establish the whereabouts of those listed as missing.
The search has been complicated by the destruction of roads and bridges and the remoteness of many affected communities.
Some areas can only be reached by helicopter, while other rescue teams have been forced to navigate unstable terrain and damaged infrastructure.
There are also concerns that the number of victims could increase as rivers carry debris and bodies downstream.
Indian authorities said they had recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal. The victims were believed to have been caught in the flooding on the Nepalese side of the border.
The discovery has raised concerns that additional bodies could be found farther downstream as floodwaters move through the river system.
Pilgrims caught in disaster
Among those affected are Hindu pilgrims who were travelling towards Tibet’s Mount Kailash.
The mountain is considered sacred by Hindus and several other religious traditions, making the area a major destination for pilgrims from India and other parts of the world.
Many travellers were crossing the Himalayan region when the disaster struck.
Sivaranjani Muthunathan, 46, was travelling by bus with 56 other people towards the Chinese border when the group became trapped.
At first, they believed they were caught in a traffic jam.
Then conditions changed rapidly.
“Then there was fog, smoke, something that seemed to suddenly engulf us,” Muthunathan told AFP on Friday.
She showed a video recorded on her phone showing a torrent of water and debris moving towards the group.
Vehicles around them were swept away or buried under mud.
The passengers eventually escaped through the driver’s side of the bus and scrambled towards higher ground.
“One by one, we also climbed out through the driver’s side,” she said.
The account offered a glimpse into the confusion experienced by people caught in the disaster without warning.
Rescue effort faces race against time
With thousands still missing, rescuers face a race against time to determine who has survived and reach people who may remain trapped.
The immediate priorities are locating survivors, evacuating stranded residents and tourists, providing food and water and preventing further casualties from secondary flooding.
Authorities must also deal with the longer term consequences of the disaster, including damaged hydropower facilities, destroyed homes, blocked transport routes and communities facing the loss of their livelihoods.
For families of those still missing, however, the most urgent concern remains finding loved ones.
The destruction across the Himalayan valleys has made that task exceptionally difficult.
As rescue teams continue to work through mud, debris and damaged infrastructure, authorities in Nepal and China are still trying to establish the full human cost of the disaster.
The rising number of missing people, combined with the discovery of bodies downstream in India, suggests that the final toll could be significantly higher than current figures.
For survivors, the disaster has already transformed entire communities.
Homes and workplaces have disappeared, vital infrastructure has been damaged and families are left waiting for news.
The search will continue as authorities gain access to more isolated areas, but the scale of the destruction means it could take days or longer before the fate of thousands of missing people is fully established.