United News of Bangladesh

Rescue operations entered their fourth day on Saturday in areas along the Nepal-China border devastated by catastrophic flash floods, as poor weather disrupted helicopter missions to search for thousands of missing people. Rescue workers and military personnel have been working around the clock since Wednesday, when floods triggered by a glacier collapse swept through communities in Nepal and China's Tibet region. The disaster has killed hundreds of people, while nearly 2,500 remain missing on both sides of the border. Nepali Army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet said helicopter operations were temporarily suspended on Saturday due to poor weather. Search and rescue efforts, however, continued at several locations, including Nepal's Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district and the heavily damaged Gyirong border crossing in Tibet. Authorities believe more than 100 people may still be trapped inside a tunnel at the hydropower construction site, which has been filled with thick mud. Basnet said rescuers had managed to reach some people using ropes and baskets, but the operation remained extremely difficult because of mud measuring around 4 to 5 feet deep and the limited number of places available for helicopters to land. Rescue teams were also forced to temporarily move from some areas after warnings of possible further flooding. Meanwhile, authorities remained alert over a newly formed lake in the Himalayan mountains following Wednesday's disaster. Experts had warned that the lake, created after the glacier collapse, had started overflowing and could trigger further flooding. However, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported late Friday that the lake had begun shrinking. Monitoring data from China's Ministry of Water Resources showed that the water level had dropped by about 10 metres from its peak on Thursday morning. In Tibet, rescuers continued efforts to reach Gyirong Port, the badly damaged border crossing with Nepal. CCTV footage showed rescue teams travelling on foot and by raft, while others were lowered into the area using drones. Rescuers could be heard calling out, "Anyone, anyone?" as they searched the devastated area. It was not immediately clear how many people were inside the border checkpoint building when the floods struck. Nepal's disaster management authority said Friday that 579 people had died, while police later reported a death toll of 553. On the Chinese side, the death toll rose to seven on Friday, according to state media, which also reported the evacuation of affected villages and ongoing relief efforts. More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal so far. The number of missing people in the country has nearly doubled to 1,924 after more local residents were added to the list. Chinese state media said 554 people remained missing on the Chinese side. Hundreds of those still unaccounted for are foreign nationals who had travelled to the area for work, trekking or pilgrimage to a sacred mountain peak.