Nepal Flood Survivors Trapped in Tunnels as Death Toll Surpasses 1,000
Rescue efforts are intensifying in Nepal nearly a week after a catastrophic flood and landslide devastated areas along the Nepal-Tibet border. Nepali rescue teams are constructing temporary bridges to reach isolated regions where numerous bodies are believed to be located. Simultaneously, another team is working to free approximately 600 workers trapped in the debris of hydroelectric projects in the Himalayas, though hope for survivors is diminishing.
The official death toll in Nepal has risen to 987, with China reporting 16 deaths in Tibet, bringing the total to over 1,000. Nearly 4,500 people remain missing, including 592 foreign nationals in Nepal and 261 in China. The disaster, which occurred last Wednesday morning, was triggered by a massive chunk of a glacier detaching and falling into a lake, causing an avalanche of ice, rock, and mud that surged downstream at over 180 km/h, destroying villages and the Gyirong border crossing.
Among the missing are citizens from over 30 countries, including two Israelis: a 60-year-old man on a pilgrimage and a 41-year-old woman with dual Israeli-Belarusian citizenship. Many Indian nationals and members of the Indian diaspora were also caught in the flood while visiting pilgrimage sites near the border.
Rescue operations are particularly focused on the tunnels of hydroelectric power stations, where over 900 workers are believed to be trapped. While some workers managed to call for help shortly after the flood, communication has been lost, raising fears of suffocation. Experts emphasize the critical 72-hour survival window without clean water, which has long passed, and the ongoing concern about air supply.
Nepal has received over $42 million in international aid, with India and China assisting in rescue efforts and bridge construction. The country is conducting mass cremations for recovered bodies, documenting them with photographs and DNA samples for later identification by families. Families continue to search for loved ones in hospitals and rescue centers, with some recounting harrowing experiences of trying to locate missing relatives caught at the border crossing.
