Rescuers dig into tunnel as missing toll from Nepal and China flood tops 3,000
Latest figures from both countries put the number of missing at 3,044, with a further 750 confirmed deaths.
A woman reacts as she holds up her chickens after rescuing them from her house, following deadly flash floods and mudslides, in Devighat, in Nepal's Nuwakot district, on Sunday. | REUTERS
AFP-JIJI, STAFF REPORT
Aug 30, 2026
Bidur, Nepal – Rescuers in Nepal and China battled Sunday through leg-sucking mud and the threat of rising rivers and a newly formed lake to search for thousands missing after a deadly wall of water and debris swept through the Himalayas, engulfing entire villages.
Latest figures from both countries put the number of missing at 3,044, with a further 750 confirmed deaths — and reports of some bodies possibly swept downstream as far away as India.
The disaster, which struck the China-Nepal border Wednesday morning, was caused by a glacial collapse, sending a wall of water and debris downstream, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
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