A drone view of the aftermath of flash flooding along the Trishuli river amidst fresh water surge warning in the Trishuli Bazaar area of Nuwakot district, Nepal, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
Rescuers struggled on Aug. 31 through mud and debris for a sixth day, as the number of missing people soared to nearly 5,000 since tsunami-like glacial floods roared down from the China-Nepal border, creating an “unimaginable” disaster.
The latest confirmed death toll surged above 900, but the number of those unaccounted for is also climbing, with unidentified bodies buried in mass graves after DNA sampling.
The huge wave of freezing water, rocks and debris that smashed into villages and towns on Aug. 26 killed at least 903 people in Nepal and in Tibet, in China, with at least 17 bodies pulled from rivers downstream in India.
On Aug. 30 Nepali Prime Minster Balendra Shah called the disaster “unimaginable and heartbreaking.”
Rescue teams are in a race against time in treacherous conditions in a bid to free dozens of hydropower workers believed trapped in tunnels: Digging, drilling and blasting through debris, a non-stop effort supported by teams from China, India and South Korea.
So far, three dead bodies have been pulled out of two tunnels, and the teams have found routes blocked with mud.
The disaster was sparked by a glacial collapse, the U.S. Geological Survey said. While the exact cause of that collapse is unclear, climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, raising the risk of such disasters.
Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said: “The people of Nepal are one of the major victims of the changing climate and its impact.”
Scientists say the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.
Aid needs are enormous. Entire communities have been swept away, leaving families homeless in heavy rain or sheltering in temporary facilities.
“This is an unfolding disaster,” U.N. children’s fund official Abiodun Banire told AFP, saying the needs of the tens of thousands impacted were vast.
Roads have been washed away, power plants destroyed and dozens of bridges smashed.
“We are continuing to work for search, rescue and relief operations,” Karki told AFP on Aug. 31, as communications slowly improved. Police initially had to use drones to carry messages into cut-off areas.
“Rescue teams have now reached most areas, by road or by helicopters,” he added.
With mortuaries overflowing with the dead, Nepal has begun burying some of the hundreds of bodies recovered after taking DNA samples so families can later retrieve them.
Kathmandu has appealed for international support, saying Nepal needed “more than a thousand” freezer units to store bodies.
Among Nepal’s list of the missing are 592 foreigners, including tourists who had come for trekking in its apparently serene mountains, and Hindu pilgrims seeking spiritual peace at Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.
Nepali army rescuers said on Aug. 31 that its teams were working to “clear water, mud and sediment” as they dug to reach around 100 workers that the government believes may be alive inside multiple tunnels.
