KATHMANDU/BEIJING, 31 August 2026 (Nosheen): Nepalese rescue teams, assisted by Chinese and Indian experts, continued overnight operations to reach hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside blocked hydropower project tunnels following last week’s devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border. The unprecedented surge of ice, rocks, mud and debris on Wednesday, reportedly triggered by a glacier collapse, has left more than 900 people dead and thousands missing in Nepal and neighbouring areas of China. Nepalese officials said rescue teams were focusing on reaching hundreds of workers believed to be trapped inside around half a dozen hydropower project tunnels blocked by mud and rock debris. Rescue teams have been using heavy earth-moving machinery to clear mud and rocks from the blocked tunnels. Soldiers and other personnel have also been searching through large pits and debris under difficult conditions in an effort to locate possible survivors.According to Nepal’s disaster management authority, 933 people associated with hydropower projects remain missing in the flood-hit region.

The International Red Cross has estimated that more than 90,000 people are likely to have been affected by the disaster. China has linked the severity of the disaster to the effects of climate change. Nepali authorities said on Monday that at least 903 people had died, while 4,247 remained missing, including the 933 people reported missing from hydropower projects. Hundreds of bodies, many of them unidentified, have been buried in shallow graves after being swept down the mountains by the massive torrent. Officials have faced additional challenges due to the humid weather and the rapid decomposition of bodies. On the Chinese side of the border, authorities reported 16 deaths in Gyirong County, while 546 people remained missing. Rescue and recovery operations are continuing as authorities and international teams work to locate missing people, clear blocked areas and provide assistance to communities affected by the catastrophic floods.