According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 734 people have died in Nepal, with 2,498 still missing. On the Chinese side in Tibet, authorities have confirmed 16 deaths and 546 missing people.
The number of missing people in Nepal has continued to rise, including 589 foreign nationals and 933 workers employed on hydropower projects along the affected river.
Rescue teams have so far saved 8,186 people, including 227 foreign nationals. Authorities in neighbouring India have also recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, although these have not been included in the official death toll.
China said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries remain missing in Tibet. Among them are 104 Nepalis, 49 Indians, 33 Latvians, 18 Americans and 15 British nationals.
Chinese authorities have linked the disaster to glacier instability caused by the long-term effects of global warming. The collapse unleashed massive torrents of ice, rock, mud and debris through Himalayan river valleys, destroying homes, infrastructure and hydropower projects.
China has deployed more than 2,100 emergency rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan for relief operations. Nepal and China are coordinating efforts to rescue survivors, locate missing people and prevent further disasters.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people may have been affected by one of the region’s worst cross-border disasters in recent years.
