Nepal Death Toll Rises to 1,252 as Rescue Operations Continue

Catastrophic floods along the China-Nepal border have killed at least 1,273 people, with Nepal reporting 1,252 deaths and China confirming 21 fatalities in Tibet, authorities said Thursday.

The disaster, which struck on August 26, has also left thousands missing. Nepal’s disaster authority said 4,216 people remained unaccounted for, while Chinese state media reported 541 missing in Tibet, taking the combined number of missing to 4,757.

Nearly 600 foreign nationals from more than 30 countries are also missing, with Indians among the largest groups. The US State Department said Wednesday that around 75 Americans remained unaccounted for.

In Kathmandu, families of missing foreigners were desperately searching hospitals and morgues for information about their loved ones.

“I feel desperate, it’s been so many days,” said 53-year-old American Sanjeev Rai, who travelled to Nepal after learning that his wife could not be traced.

The floods have devastated several mountainous districts, destroying roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure and severely hampering relief and rescue operations.

Aid agencies are considering using porters to transport essential supplies to remote areas near the Chinese border where access remains difficult.

“We’ve been discussing with the government how also to use helicopters, cargo drones to be able to deliver aid,” UN Resident Coordinator for Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia told reporters in Kathmandu.

She also highlighted Nepal’s network of experienced porters, saying authorities may need to rely on these “very simple means” to get aid to affected communities as quickly as possible.

Porters have long been crucial to Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering industry, carrying heavy loads for days across steep and difficult terrain.

Meanwhile, Nepal Army personnel and rescue teams, including foreign specialists, continued their search for survivors believed to be trapped inside several hydropower tunnels.

The army said excavators and other heavy equipment were being used to clear debris and search the tunnels for possible survivors.