Death toll tops 1,000 after Nepal flooding, as search continues for thousands

LONDON — More than 1,000 people were confirmed dead and almost 4,000 others were thought to be missing as of Tuesday afternoon in Nepal, where deadly flash flooding last week destroyed towns and swept away structures, according to authorities.

At least 1,003 bodies had been recovered in Nepal as of Tuesday afternoon, the Nepal National Disaster Management Authority said in a post on social media. China’s official Xinhua News Agency earlier said at least 16 people were dead.

A total of 3,916 people were said to be missing throughout Nepal, disaster officials said in a 1 p.m. update on Tuesday. Xinhua earlier reported that Chinese officials said some 546 others were missing.

Nepal’s tourism board said that at least 747 people, including some 583 tourists, were thought to be missing in the northern district of Rasuwa, which sits along the border with Tibet, the area where the flooding occurred at about 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday.

The State Department said about 75 Americans are still missing near the Nepal-Tibet border and 14 have made their way to safety as of Tuesday, with no confirmed American deaths.

The flooding inundated areas along the Trishuli River, burying buildings and damaging bridges and roadways.

The wall of ice, water and debris that descended from the mountains on the frontier between Nepal and Tibet caused destruction at least 62 miles downriver into Nepal, an News analysis of verified video and satellite images shows.

Emergency responders were searching tunnels for the missing on Tuesday at Rusawa’s Langtang Hydropower Project, along with other hydro-related tunnels. A video released by the Nepali Army showed several emergency responders alternatively crawling and trudging through deep mud within a tunnel.

“During the immediate rescue operation after the flood, 279 people were rescued alive from the hydro areas,” the Nepali Army said on Tuesday.

More than 9,200 Army troops were deployed in flood-affected areas, including Rasuwa, Dhading, Chitwan and Nawalparasi East, where, according to the army, they were “coordinating the search and rescue of the injured, assisting in the management of bodies, opening blocked roads and conducting emergency treatment.”

Officials were burying the dead in mass graves, including one in Chitwan, where Police Inspector Anil Thapa said on Monday that 199 of the dead had been buried in one temporary burial area. Thapa said another about 80 people were to be buried on Monday. The national police and the army were helping, along with citizens, Thapa said.

“We found the dead bodies, those are already decomposed, they are already in the state of decomposition, so it was very difficult to put them inside the city area,” Thapa said. “That’s why we have to do this.”

The United Nations said on Monday that its officials were “getting a clear picture of what people need.” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N.’s secretary-general, said some 65,000 people are in need of emergency water, sanitation or hygiene support.

“More than 22,000 children need protection. 2,600 children under five are expected to need treatment for severe wasting,” Dujarric said on Monday. “And around 10,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women need nutrition assistance.”

The spokesperson said that preliminary reports indicated that about 107 children may have been separated from their parents or caregivers, adding, “Family tracing and reunification is now an urgent priority.”