Nepal toll surges as rescuers struggle through ‘unimaginable’ disaster

A glacial collapse triggered by climate change unleashed a tsunami-like wave of ice, rock, and debris down from the China-Nepal border, creating an "unimaginable" disaster that has left nearly 5,000 people missing since it began. The death toll from the latest confirmed fatalities has surpassed 900, with many more unaccounted for, leading to mass graves filled with unidentified bodies after DNA sampling.

The disaster has devastated villages and towns in Nepal and Tibet, killing at least 903 people, including at least 17 in India, and causing the recovery of at least 17 bodies from rivers. Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah called the disaster "unimaginable and heartbreaking". Rescue teams are racing against time to free around 100 hydropower workers trapped in tunnels, supported by teams from China, India, and South Korea.

While three bodies have been pulled from the tunnels, many routes are blocked with mud, and rescuers are digging through "sludge". Despite the tragedy, there is hope; a six-year-old girl was reunited with her parents after being found crying for her mother, four days after being trapped in mud. Climate change is raising the risk of such disasters as glaciers worldwide continue to melt.

Nepal has begun burying bodies in mass graves, with mortuaries overflowing, and the country has appealed for international support, requesting more than a thousand freezer units to store bodies.