Rescuers continued to comb devastated valleys along the border between Nepal and China after a glacier collapse triggered flash floods that buried towns and infrastructure. Teams found survivors in hydropower tunnels and buildings, evacuated hundreds by helicopter, and moved thousands to relief centers, according to reports from AP, CNN and AFP.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority told CNN that the country had recorded more than 1,331 deaths and about 4,996 people unaccounted for. Chinese state media Xinhua reported dozens killed in Tibet and hundreds missing. CNN and AFP tallies put combined fatalities across both countries in the mid‑thousands and missing people above 5,000, reflecting rapidly evolving official counts.
Rescue operations focused on hydropower project tunnels and the hard‑hit Gyirong border crossing. Armed forces and specialist teams have pulled a small number of workers alive from muddy tunnels at the Upper Trishuli‑1 and other Trishuli projects, CNN and AP reported. South Korean and Indian teams assisted in recent tunnel recoveries, while Nepal said it had sought additional tunnel‑rescue and forensic support.
Helicopters airlifted survivors and relief supplies into mountainous districts where roads and bridges were destroyed. AP and AFP described scenes of families at army barracks and makeshift hospitals scanning lists and posting photographs of missing relatives. Military personnel and volunteers labored to clear mud and debris as excavators probed buried buildings.
Impact Response And International Appeals
The humanitarian toll is large and growing. The United Nations and partners appealed for roughly $50 million to help more than 84,000 people, the UN said in reporting carried by CNN and AFP. Nepali authorities estimated thousands of houses and dozens of bridges were damaged, disrupting access and compounding the challenge of reaching remote communities.
Nepal has received relief shipments from neighbors and other states. Officials told AP that India and China supplied food, shelter and specialist equipment, and smaller nations also offered funds. The Nepal government asked the UN‑backed Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage to consider covering some recovery costs, a request highlighted by Al Jazeera and linked to appeals for climate compensation from major emitters.
Families waited anxiously at hospitals and relief centers for news of missing loved ones. Authorities in Nepal requested DNA samples from relatives to help identify recovered remains, the Nepal Electricity Authority said in a public notice referenced by CNN. On the Chinese side, rescuers used ground‑penetrating radar, excavators and manual digging at the flattened Gyirong port where little remained of a customs building, AP reported.
Officials warned of continuing risks. Teams monitored a newly formed high‑altitude lake created after the glacier collapse that initially threatened further flooding. Chinese monitoring later showed the lake had fallen in level, but rescuers remained cautious as they worked through steep gorges and thick mud to recover people and bodies.
