Nepal flood toll reaches 1,385 as tunnel rescues continue

The August 26 flood disaster on the China-Nepal border has killed at least 1,385 people and left more than 5,500 missing, as rescue teams continue searches in Himalayan hydropower tunnels.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are among those missing, and rescue efforts are now in their thirteenth day. Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix said the operation presented an unusual challenge because several possible rescues were unfolding at the same time in different tunnels.

Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said on Monday that teams were continuing searches on the ground, by air and inside the tunnels. He said rescuers were trying to ensure no one remained stranded.

The rescue of three workers from deep inside tunnels — two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday — raised hopes that more survivors could be found. Foreign experts from China, India and South Korea are assisting Nepali teams, including Dix, who advised during the 2023 rescue of 41 men trapped in India’s Silkyara tunnel.

Nepal is holding a national day of mourning on Monday in line with traditional Hindu rituals.

The disaster has devastated parts of Rasuwa district, where earlier survivors described villages, markets, roads and bridges swept away by torrents of mud, rock and debris. Damaged roads have left some communities cut off and uncertain about supplies and shelter.