Nepal-Tibet floods: Over 630 bodies recovered, number of missing soars to nearly 3,000
Rescue operations are underway in Nepal and Tibet following a catastrophic flood caused by a massive wall of ice and debris. Over 600 bodies have been recovered, with nearly 3,000 people still reported missing.
Why it matters
The disaster highlights the extreme vulnerability of Himalayan regions to climate-related geological events and the resulting humanitarian crisis.
Listen NUWAKOT, Nepal – Rescuers in Nepal and China were still battling on Aug 29 to locate thousands of people missing days after a deadly, tsunami-like wall of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing villages.
The number of missing soared close to 3,000 on Aug 29, latest figures from both countries showed, with 633 bodies recovered – and reports of some dead possibly swept downstream as far away as India.
In an area home to vast energy infrastructure projects, Nepal’s disaster authority added 933 hydropower workers to a missing persons list already including trekkers and pilgrims to Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.
Those that made it out say they have lost everything and now face an agonising wait to discover the fate of missing loved ones , and the prospect of rebuilding their lives from nothing.
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