Nepal flood deaths cross 1,000 as rescue teams search for thousands

The death toll from devastating floods along the China-Nepal border has surpassed 1,000, with thousands of people still unaccounted for as rescue operations enter their seventh day.

Nepal’s disaster authority said on Tuesday that 987 people had died in the country, while Chinese state media reported 16 deaths in Tibet, putting the combined toll at 1,003.

Authorities in Nepal said the number of missing persons had fallen to 3,916 as rescue teams continued searching affected communities and recovering bodies.

China has reported 546 people still missing, bringing the total number of missing persons across the two countries to 4,462.

The disaster has also affected foreign nationals. Nepalese authorities said 583 foreigners from more than 30 nationalities remain among those missing.

Indians account for the largest reported group, with New Delhi saying 275 Indian citizens and 128 people of Indian origin are unaccounted for in Nepal.

The United States has also reported 85 missing citizens, according to the US State Department, while reports from Nepal’s tourism authorities and foreign missions put the number of missing Ukrainians at 62, Malaysians at 51, Australians at 42 and Britons at 33.

Meanwhile, authorities in India’s Uttar Pradesh State have recovered 17 bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal.

Officials believe the bodies could be those of people swept away by the floods, but they have not yet been formally identified and are therefore excluded from the current death toll.

Rescue and recovery operations remain underway in the worst-hit areas as authorities continue efforts to locate survivors and establish the identities and whereabouts of those still missing.