Nepal-China flood deaths surge past 900 as rescuers struggle

Rescuers struggled through mud and debris as the number of missing people soared to nearly 5,000 since tsunami-like glacial floods roared down from the China-Nepal border, creating an “unimaginable” disaster.



The latest confirmed death toll surged above 900, and the number of those unaccounted for is also climbing – with unidentified bodies buried in mass graves after DNA sampling.



The huge wave of freezing water, rocks and debris that smashed into villages and towns on Aug 26 killed at least 903 people in Nepal and in Tibet, in China, with at least 17 bodies pulled from rivers downstream in India.



Nepali Prime Minster Balendra Shah in a statement on Aug 30 called the disaster “unimaginable and heartbreaking”.



Rescue teams are in a race against time in treacherous conditions to free around 100 hydropower workers believed trapped in multiple tunnels – digging, drilling and blasting through debris in a non-stop effort supported by teams from China, India and South Korea.



So far, three dead bodies have been pulled out of two tunnels, and the teams have found routes blocked with mud.



An Indian army officer deployed as part of a specialised tunnel rescue team said rescuers were digging through “sludge”.



He said he was “still hopeful that there are six survivors inside” the tunnel where he was stationed.