Death toll from Nepal-China floods climbs to 1,130, nearly 4,500 missing

A woman looks at the pictures of people who went missing following deadly flash floods and a mudslide, at the Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept 2, 2026. - Photo: Reuters

ISLAMABAD: (Bernama-Anadolu) The death toll from last week's devastating flash floods and mudslides on the China-Nepal border has climbed to 1,130, while 4,462, including 844 foreigners, remained missing, the latest official data showed on Wednesday (Sept 2), Anadolu Ajansi reported.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 1,114 bodies have been recovered in Nepal since massive flash floods hit the Himalayan country on Aug. 26, while 292 people were injured and 3,916, including 583 foreigners, remained missing.

Authorities said that around 12,000 people have been rescued from the flood-hit areas, whereas more than 21,000 security personnel, including army and police, have been mobilised to assist the ongoing search and rescue operations.

Relatives console Muna Khadka, center, who lost her son Aayush Khadka in flash floods, at a cremation ground in Chitwan, Nepal, Monday, Aug 31, 2026. - Photo: AP

Around 1.6 million people have been affected in Nepal by flash floods, they added.

At least 16 people have been killed on the Chinese side of the border, with 546 missing, including 261 foreigners, according to Xinhua News.

Road access to the core area of the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in Tibet, which China designates as the Xizang Autonomous Region, was restored on Wednesday after days of "round-the-clock" repair work on the damaged highway, Beijing-based Xinhua News reported.

Rescue teams, relief supplies, and some rescue equipment have entered the core rescue area via the repaired road.

Relatives and friends cremate Aayush Khadka, who was killed in flash floods, in Chitwan, Nepal, Monday, Aug 31, 2026. - Photo: AP

A 44-member Korea Disaster Relief Team from South Korea reached Nepal Wednesday to help find the missing people. At least nine South Koreans are among the missing.

China has also sent its experts, besides drones, DNA testing devices and reagents, water-purification equipment, and lighting gear, state media reported.

India has also sent DNA analysis experts.

The disaster struck on Aug. 26 when a glacier on Nepal’s Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 metres (17,060 feet), triggering an ice-rock avalanche that developed into a massive debris flow and swept through valleys along the border.

The huge surge of water, along with mudslides, devastated Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Kavre, and the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, while also burying the Gyirong border crossing with Nepal in southwestern Tibet, also known as the Xizang Autonomous Region, on the Chinese side. - Bernama-Anadolu