Nepal’s disaster management authorities said Saturday that the death toll from devastating flash floods along the Nepal-China border has risen to 626, while 2,426 people remain missing as search and rescue operations entered their fourth day.
The latest figures represent a significant increase from the previous count of 579 deaths and 1,924 missing people.
China has separately reported seven deaths and 554 people missing in Tibet.
Poor weather disrupted helicopter rescue operations in Nepal on Saturday, although search teams and military personnel continued working at several disaster-hit locations.
Nepali Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said helicopter operations had been temporarily suspended until weather conditions improve. Ground-based rescue efforts, however, remained underway.
Teams continued their searches at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the badly damaged Gyirong border crossing on the Chinese side.
At the hydropower project, more than 100 people are believed to be trapped inside a tunnel buried under several feet of mud. Rescuers have been using ropes and baskets to reach those inside, but the operation has been hampered by mud estimated to be 4 to 5 feet deep and limited areas where helicopters can land.
Rescue teams have also had to temporarily move to safer locations because of warnings of additional flooding.
Authorities remain concerned about a newly formed lake high in the Himalayas. The lake developed after a glacier collapse triggered Wednesday's flash floods, raising fears that additional water and debris could reach downstream areas.
However, monitoring data from China's Ministry of Water Resources showed that the lake had decreased in size. CCTV reported that its water level had fallen by about 10 meters (32 feet) from its peak recorded Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, relief supplies were being transported from Kathmandu toward the affected areas.
Families wait for news of missing relatives
In Nuwakot district, one of the areas badly affected by the floods, families gathered at a relief center Saturday hoping to find information about missing relatives.
Military personnel displayed lists containing the names of dozens of missing people. Relatives crowded around the lists, taking photographs and searching anxiously for familiar names.
Search continues at devastated border crossing
Rescue operations also continued at Gyirong Port, the badly damaged border crossing between China and Nepal.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed rescuers reaching the area on foot and by raft, while others were lowered into the site using drones. Rescuers were heard calling out to determine whether anyone remained alive.
Authorities have not yet established how many people were inside the border checkpoint when the floods struck.
More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal so far. Many of those still missing are foreigners who had traveled to the region for employment, trekking or religious pilgrimage.