Nuwakot (Nepal) (AFP) - Rescue efforts continue six days after devastating floods swept Nepal on the border with China, with the announcement Monday that the death toll has risen to more than 950 and the missing to nearly 4,500 people, in a disaster whose scale is difficult to imagine.

Published on: 08/31/2026 - 12:23 Last updated: 08/31/2026 - 23:34

Unidentified bodies were buried in mass graves after DNA samples were taken from them.

The death toll from the floods that occurred on Wednesday in Nepal on the border with China rose to 939 people, while the number of missing people decreased slightly compared to the previous toll to reach 3,925, according to what the Nepalese Emergency Management Authority announced.

On the Tibetan side, Chinese official media reported that 16 people were killed and 546 others were missing, bringing the total provisional toll of the disaster to 955 dead and 4,471 missing.

Shibu Giri, a hydropower worker in Rasuwa, considers himself lucky to be alive.

The 44-year-old Nepalese citizen told AFP that a helicopter crew tried "to rescue me three times, but my body was stuck in the mud up to waist level."

Giri, who was eventually rescued and taken to hospital, added, "I asked them to throw water and food."

Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Sunday that the scale of the disaster was "unimaginable and heartbreaking."

In Chitwan District, soldiers got out of inflatable rafts and carried the bodies of victims in blue bags to the riverbank, then arranged them in a row along a dirt road.

A massive wave of extremely cold water, rocks and debris swept through villages and towns on Wednesday, killing at least 903 people in Nepal and Tibet, China, with at least 17 bodies recovered from rivers in India downstream.

Rescue teams are racing against time in extremely dangerous conditions, trying to extract dozens of workers in the hydropower sector, who are believed to be stuck inside tunnels, while digging, bulldozing and blasting operations continue non-stop, with the support of teams from China, India and South Korea.

So far, three bodies have been recovered from two tunnels, and rescue teams have discovered that some roads are blocked by mud.

An Indian soldier, part of a rescue team specializing in tunnels, said that the members were digging in the mud. He told AFP that he still hopes that there are survivors inside the tunnel where he was.

For its part, the Nepalese Ministry of Interior announced the mobilization of 20,600 personnel and the rescue of more than 3,100 people from the stricken area.

Soldiers were seen unloading the bodies of victims from helicopters in Nuwakot and Rasoi districts in Nepal on Monday.

Amidst these horrors, a ray of hope emerged. A six-year-old girl was rescued from the mud on Friday and returned to her parents after the police found her crying and calling for her mother.

“Her body was stuck in the mud, but her head was out,” Nepali police spokesman Netra Bahadur Karki told AFP.

He added, "Her condition is stable and she is recovering in the hospital, and she has returned to her family."

- 'Climate change' -

The US Geological Survey reported that the disaster was caused by an avalanche. While the exact cause of this collapse remains unclear, climate change is causing glaciers around the world to melt, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said, "The people of Nepal are among those most affected by climate change and its effects."

Scientists confirm that the snow of the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world, is melting faster as global temperatures rise.

Relief needs are enormous, as the floods swept away entire villages, leaving families displaced amid heavy rains or in temporary shelters.

"This is an unfolding disaster," Abiodun Baner, an official at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), told AFP, noting that the needs of tens of thousands of those affected are enormous.

The floods washed away roads and destroyed power plants and dozens of bridges.

Overcrowded morgues

With the morgues overcrowded, Nepal began burying hundreds of bodies after taking DNA samples from them, so that their families could receive them later.

In Chitwan, relatives of some victims cremated their bodies, while survivors in riverside villages like Devegat struggled to retrieve what remained of their belongings from their destroyed homes.

Kathmandu appealed to the international community to provide support, stressing that Nepal needs "more than a thousand" freezing units to preserve bodies.

Grieving families, eager to know news of their missing relatives, follow pictures of bodies on screens in local centers in an effort to identify the deceased.

Shobha Adhikari, from the city of Bharatpur in southern Nepal, told a local coordinator that she believed one of the photos belonged to one of her childhood friends.

"He looks just like him," she said, showing a photo of a smiling middle-aged man.

On the list of missing persons in Nepal are 592 foreigners, including hikers, mountaineers and Hindu pilgrims to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

In China, foreign journalists cannot access Tibet and the only source of information is the Chinese authorities.

More than 2,000 individuals are participating in rescue operations there, but they face enormous challenges and are moving slowly towards the epicenter.

China announced that 16 people were killed in Tibet and 546 others were missing.

Pro-Tibetan groups in exile have questioned the toll announced by China.

The head of the International Campaign for Tibet, Tencho Gyatso, called on China to reveal "complete and verifiable information about the damage and human casualties."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that “the dissemination of information is open, transparent and timely,” rejecting international reports that it underestimates the number of announced deaths.

© 2026 AFP

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