Nepal partially halts search for 5,285 people missing after floods — Anadolu Agency

In Nepal, authorities have partially suspended search and rescue operations after devastating floods and landslides on the border with China, although 5,285 people remain missing. As Anadolu Agency reports, operations were halted in areas where there are no signs that survivors or missing people may be present.

Searches continue in tunnels

An unnamed Nepalese official told the agency that rescuers continue to work in key areas, including tunnels. At least six hydropower projects on the Nepalese side of the border were affected by the floods. Around 900 people had been deployed at these sites.

According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 1,453 people died in the disaster, while another 13,795 were rescued. Those missing include 636 foreigners.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Consequences on both sides of the border

On the Chinese side of the border, the death toll stands at 43, while another 519 people are considered missing, including 261 foreigners in Tibet, which Beijing calls the Xizang Autonomous Region.

The disaster occurred on August 26 after a glacier ruptured on Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal at an altitude of 5,200 meters. This triggered an ice-and-rock avalanche that turned into a powerful mudflow and moved through valleys along the border. Floods and landslides affected the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre, as well as the Kathmandu Valley. On the Chinese side, the flows buried the Gyirong border checkpoint.