The death toll from devastating floods and mudslides in Nepal has risen to 903, while more than 4,247 people remain missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Bodies have been recovered from all eight affected districts as rescue teams race against time to locate those missing and evacuate people stranded by the disaster.
At least 933 workers are also believed to be trapped at around half a dozen hydropower projects. Rescue teams backed by India and other experts are searching blocked hydropower tunnels, including the Trishuli-3A project.
In neighbouring Tibet, the disaster has killed at least 16 people, while 546 others have been reported missing. The floods sent a massive torrent of ice, rocks, mud and debris through towns and villages along the Nepal-Tibet border.
An Indian tunnel-rescue team is working alongside the Nepali Army at hydropower sites in Chilime and Langtang. Soldiers and earth-moving machinery have been operating through the night to clear debris and gain access to the blocked tunnels.
Nepali Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said the huge deposits of debris were making access to the tunnels particularly difficult.
A preliminary study by Nepali scientists found that the floods were triggered by a massive ice-rock avalanche at an altitude of around 5,200 metres in the Langtang-Lirung area of Rasuwa district. The debris entered the Lhende River before surging through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems.
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah described the floods as an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster”. Nearly 21,000 security personnel have been deployed in rescue and relief operations.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people have been affected by the disaster. Authorities are continuing efforts to recover, identify and account for victims as rescue operations remain underway.
