Nepal flood death toll hits 900 as number missing climbs
A devastating glacier collapse in Nepal has resulted in over 900 deaths, with thousands still missing. Rescue efforts are currently focused on reaching workers trapped in hydropower tunnels blocked by debris.
Why it matters
This disaster highlights the extreme vulnerability of Himalayan regions to climate-related geological events and the humanitarian crisis that follows.
The death toll following devastating floods in Nepal has surpassed 900, as rescue teams worked overnight to reach hundreds of people believed to be stuck inside blocked hydropower project tunnels.
The devastating floods near the border with China have killed at least 939 people in Nepal, while the number of missing in the country dropped to 3,925, its disaster authority said, six days after the disaster.
Chinese state media earlier confirmed 16 dead and 546 people missing in Tibet, taking the overall toll to 955 dead and 4,471 missing.
The unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris on the Nepal-Tibet border happened last Wednesday and has been blamed on a glacier collapse.
Hundreds of bodies, many unidentified, have been buried in shallow graves as they began decomposing in the humid weather in the plains of the Himalayan country after being swept down the mountains by the torrent.
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