Number of missing in deadly Nepal, China floods soars past 2,400

Rescuers in Nepal and China were still battling Saturday (Aug 29) to locate thousands of people missing days after a deadly, tsunami-like wall of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing villages.



The number of missing soared past 2,400 on Friday, with the death toll rising to 616, according to Nepali police.



Emergency teams earlier said they had recovered 586 bodies, with some of the dead swept downstream as far away as India.



In an area home to vast energy infrastructure projects, Nepal's disaster authority added 933 hydropower workers to a missing persons list already including trekkers and pilgrims to Tibet's sacred Mount Kailash.



Those that made it out say they have lost everything and now face an agonising wait to discover the fate of missing loved ones, and the prospect of rebuilding their lives from nothing.