Glacier Collapse: Death toll nears 800 as Nepal and China search for thousands missing

KATHMANDU: Rescue teams in Nepal and China are racing to find thousands of people missing after a glacier collapse triggered a catastrophic mudslide across the Himalayas, with difficult weather and rising water levels hampering operations.

Authorities said on Sunday that the death toll had climbed to nearly 800, while more than 3,000 people remained missing on both sides of the Nepal-China border after torrents of ice, rock, mud and debris swept through mountain valleys and river systems on Wednesday.

The Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people may have been affected by the disaster. China has linked the disaster to the effects of climate change.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the incident as the countries’ “most severe cross-border disaster” in recent years during a telephone conversation with Nepal’s foreign minister on Saturday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Nepal’s disaster management authorities reported 781 deaths and 2,502 missing people. In China’s Gyirong County, 16 people were confirmed dead and 546 remained missing.

China also said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries were unaccounted for in Tibet near a major border crossing with Nepal.

The rugged Himalayan terrain has made rescue operations particularly difficult. In Nepal, residents and rescuers moved to higher ground after fresh rainfall caused the Trishuli River to rise, raising fears of further flooding.

Bad weather and concerns over a debris-blocked lake near the Nepal-China border have repeatedly forced authorities to suspend rescue operations since Friday. The lake had begun overflowing into the Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers.

CCTV reported that the lake had largely drained by Saturday evening. However, drones later detected a landslide about 2.8 kilometres downstream, creating another natural dam and a fresh pool of water.

Rescuers have increasingly focused on five hydropower projects inundated by the floods. At the Upper Trishuli complex, authorities believe about 350 people could be trapped inside a tunnel.

Around 10,000 Nepali troops have joined specialist rescue teams from China and India. Nepal’s military airlifted heavy machinery to the remote site on Sunday, allowing rescuers to reach the entrance of one tunnel and begin clearing debris.

Teams carrying oxygen supplies and cameras are expected to enter the tunnel once access has been secured.

“It’s very tough because there’s a lot of debris and we cannot blast things to make our way through,” said Dharam Raj Uprety, head of Nepal’s national disaster management authority.

Nepal has appealed for international assistance with specialised operations, including tunnel rescues, DNA testing, refrigerated storage for bodies and forensic identification of decomposed remains.

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Mass burials as bodies decompose

Authorities in Nepal have begun burying hundreds of unidentified victims after relatives spent days searching hospitals, morgues and relief centres for missing family members.

In Chitwan district, around 200 kilometres from the disaster zone, officials dug hundreds of graves in a forest at Devghat for bodies swept downstream from the flood-hit Rasuwa region.

“We were left with no other option,” said Ganesh Aryal, Chitwan’s chief district officer, citing public-health concerns caused by the rapid decomposition of the bodies.

Officials buried 96 unidentified bodies on Saturday and planned to bury more than 100 others on Sunday. DNA samples were collected and burial sites documented to help families identify victims in the future.

Police officer Anil Thapa said more than half of the recovered bodies were beyond recognition.

“Many have no visible faces. In some cases, only hands or legs remain; in others, only parts of the body are available,” he said.

Climate change concerns

CCTV reported that glacier instability caused by the long-term effects of global warming contributed to the disaster, describing the event as an emerging form of cryosphere disaster on the Tibetan plateau.

Chinese scientists estimated that the mudslide travelled from the Nepalese side to the Gyirong border crossing in six to seven minutes.

Dramatic surveillance footage showed torrents of water and debris sweeping through buildings as people attempted to escape.

China has mobilised more than 2,100 rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan ($32.7 million) for relief efforts, according to state media. Equipment and emergency supplies have also been delivered by air, while Chinese soldiers are using life-detection equipment to search for survivors.