Nepal-Tibet death toll 750 from Himalayan flood, 3,000 missing

Nepal and Tibet have suffered 750 fatalities and 3,044 missing persons in the aftermath of a recent deadly flood, according to authorities. Rescue efforts have been hampered by adverse weather conditions and concerns over a growing lake formed by a recent landslide that could cause further flooding downstream. The United Nations' Red Cross estimates that over 90,000 people have been impacted by the disaster, which Chinese authorities attribute to the consequences of climate change.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Lok Bahadur Chhetri informed his Chinese counterpart that this was their most severe cross-border disaster in years. The rescue operations have become particularly challenging due to the need to navigate through numerous tunnels housing trapped individuals. In Tibet, 16 people have died and 546 are missing, with 104 of the 261 foreign nationals missing being from Nepal, 49 from India, and 33 from Latvia, 18 from the United States, and 15 from Britain.

The Nepalese government does not require international assistance for general rescue operations but seeks help with tunnel rescue, DNA testing, refrigerated storage for bodies, and forensic identification of decomposed remains. Indian and Chinese experts are currently on the ground aiding efforts to open tunnels. A lake that had formed upstream and posed a threat to rescue operations largely drained by Saturday evening, but a new landslide detected late Saturday downstream of the lake has prompted authorities to relocate rescue personnel near the border crossing to safety.

China has deployed over 2,100 rescue workers and allocated $32.7 million in emergency funds and disaster relief supplies, including satellite and hydrological data as well as tunnel rescue experts, to support Nepal's relief efforts.