Nepal flood death toll rises as rescuers scour tunnels

Rescue team members work to enter the tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station as they search for survivors and retrieve bodies in Rasuwa, Nepal, Sept 3, 2026. - Photo: Reuters

KATHMANDU: The death toll from Nepal's devastating flood rose on Tuesday (Sept 8) to 1,357, with 5,326 people still missing, the country's disaster authority said nearly two weeks after the Aug 26 disaster.

In China, 43 people were confirmed dead and 519 missing, according to state media, bringing the overall toll to 1,400 dead and 5,845 missing.

Rescue work continued in Nepal for a 14th day after the devastating glacial and mountain collapse near the China-Nepal border swept away roads, bridges and homes.

Sanjay Sah, a survivor rescued from a tunnel of the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower project nine days after the deadly flash floods and a mudslide, is being carried to be air lifted to Kathmandu from an army base in Nuwakot, Nepal, Sept 4, 2026. - Photo: Reuters

Nepali rescuers are focusing on three hydropower projects where they believe workers could still be trapped, the disaster agency said.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three from deep inside tunnels -- two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday -- has raised hopes that others could still be alive.

"Our search and rescue operation is ongoing," Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of the country's disaster authority, told AFP.

"We are hoping that there might still be survivors in at least three projects, and we are pushing our operations there."

People recover their belongings in the aftermath of flash floods at Devighat in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 8, 2026. The August 26 glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border killed at least 1,357, with 5,326 people still missing, including around 800 foreigners. - Photo: AFP

Foreign experts, including from China, India and South Korea, are aiding Nepali teams.

"We have also received reports that there are stranded people higher on the hill," Uprety added.

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves after collecting DNA samples for future identification, according to police.

A man stands next to a damaged house, following deadly flash floods and a mudslide, in Trishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal, Sept 8, 2026. - Photo: Reuters

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is accelerating glacial melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that has contributed little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, has said reconstruction could cost billions of dollars.

David Fisher, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said reaching communities isolated by the floods was a daunting task because of "narrow and dangerous" access routes.

"Every delay means families wait longer for the support they urgently need," he said in a statement. - AFP