Nepal buries victims of Himalayan flooding as death toll climbs past 900
Nepal on Monday began mass burials for the hundreds of people killed in catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border last week, as authorities announced the death toll had climbed past 900 people. Officials in Nepal and neighbouring China are still searching for more than 4,000 missing people, including hundreds of hydropower plant workers across the remote Himalayan region.
An unprecedented flash flood in Nepal and Tibet has claimed over 900 lives and left around 4,800 people missing, with rescue operations in their sixth day. Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet of Nepal's army reported that efforts were underway to rescue trapped individuals from hills, settlements, and river areas. Many bodies have been recovered in southern Nepal, far from the most affected regions.
The customary Hindu practice of cremation has sparked controversy as some victims are being buried in mass graves. Multiple foreign rescue teams are aiding local authorities in reaching workers trapped in hydropower tunnels in Nepal, with at least 90 people still trapped in these tunnels. In India's Uttar Pradesh state, authorities have recovered 17 bodies from rivers originating in Nepal, though these fatalities have not been included in the official death toll pending identification.
Scientists speculate that a glacier collapse in the Himalayas may have triggered the disaster, causing a surge of water through the mountain river systems, overwhelming towns and damaging hydropower plants.
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