Kathmandu: Nepal’s death toll from the flash floods that swept through the Bhotekoshi River basin rose to 675 on Saturday, even as rescuers continued to search for survivors and recover bodies amid renewed rain and warnings of more flooding.
Nearly 2,400 people were still missing, including at least 320 foreign nationals, officials said. More than 4,400 people had either been rescued or evacuated from affected areas, but access to several settlements remained severely restricted after floodwaters destroyed roads, bridges and other vital infrastructure.
Among those brought to safety were at least 261 foreign tourists who had previously been reported “out of contact”. The group included 167 Indians, 40 Chinese, eight Ukrainians, four Germans, four people from Malta and three Americans.
The others were nationals of Turkiye, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Oman, Belgium and Bulgaria, officials said.
According to a Nepal Police statement, the 675 bodies recovered so far were found across eight districts. Chitawan accounted for 246 deaths, while 165 bodies were recovered in Nawalparasi East, 63 in Nawalparasi West and 57 in Gorkha. The toll included 51 bodies recovered from Nuwakot, 45 from Dhading, 35 from Tanahu and 13 from Rasuwa, as reported by The New Indian Express.
More than 15,000 members of Nepal’s security forces have been pressed into service for rescue, recovery and relief work. Military and civilian helicopters have been flying to isolated locations to evacuate residents and transport food, medicines and other emergency supplies.
Rain & Rising Water Hinder Operations
The floods are believed to have been triggered by the sudden collapse or movement of ice and rock in the Himalayan region close to the Nepal-Tibet border. A huge volume of water, mud and debris then surged downstream on Wednesday, overwhelming settlements across central Nepal.
The deluge swept away houses, vehicles, roads and bridges and inflicted serious damage on hydropower facilities located along the river corridor. The Bhotekoshi, flowing south from the high Himalayan region, carried the floodwaters towards the central districts, spreading destruction over a wide area.
Authorities in China reported seven deaths on their side of the border and said more than 550 people were missing.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the government was standing beside those affected by the disaster and had directed the entire state machinery towards saving lives.
“It is the first priority of the state to save the life of each and every citizen through the mobilisation of all the state mechanism,” he said.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said government search teams were operating alongside medical workers and emergency personnel in the worst-hit locations. Authorities were also working with families to verify the identities of missing people.
Diplomatic missions were helping relatives establish contact with foreign nationals who were yet to be traced, he said.
Khanal added that the government was assessing the risk of another flood and had kept the affected areas on “high alert”.
The continuing rainfall has made an already difficult situation more dangerous. Rescue officials said bad weather and the loss of road and bridge links were slowing attempts to reach some of the most severely affected communities.
At a number of places, helicopters remain the only practical means of access. Rescue flights are being used to move stranded people, deliver relief material and survey locations where ground teams cannot travel.
A temporary lake that emerged upstream after the first flood also prompted fears of a further release of water. Although Chinese monitoring suggested that the lake had fallen from its highest recorded level, Nepali officials continued to track its size and monitor downstream water levels.
Workers Trapped Inside Project Tunnels
Rescue efforts received a boost on Saturday night when the Nepali army succeeded in pushing a pipe through an opening into a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project.
Workers are believed to be trapped inside the tunnel. The pipe was intended to provide them with air while the army prepared to widen the opening and enter the structure.
“We have already started sending air through the small opening, and we will now begin excavation work and send the rescue team inside,” Home Minister Sudan Gurung said in a statement.
Officials fear that more than 100 workers may still be alive inside tunnels at hydropower projects in the flood-hit region. Teams have focused their efforts on the Trishuli 3A and Trishuli 3B sites, where the floods left several workers trapped or unaccounted for.
Nepali security personnel have rescued 191 workers and residents from hydropower projects along the affected stretch. However, the number of people missing at several other sites remains unclear, while flooded passages, unstable structures and difficult terrain are making the search hazardous.
Indian Team Joins Tunnel Rescue
An 11-member Indian specialist team, sent to Nepal to assist with the emergency, inspected hydropower tunnels in the disaster zone on Saturday. The team subsequently travelled to Trishuli in Nuwakot district and joined efforts to locate and rescue workers believed to be trapped inside a project tunnel.
The Indian experts are expected to provide technical assistance in operations requiring specialised equipment and expertise, particularly at sites where tunnels may have been blocked, inundated or damaged.
Authorities said rescue and relief operations would continue despite the deteriorating weather. With thousands of people still missing and several communities cut off, rescue teams are racing against time to locate survivors, recover bodies and assess the risks posed by unstable river levels and damaged infrastructure.
