Sunday, August 30, 2026 - Rescuers in Nepal and China raced on Sunday to find thousands of people missing after a glacier collapse unleashed a catastrophic mudslide across the Himalayas, as they faced challenging weather conditions and rising water levels.
Authorities said the death toll rose to nearly 800, with more than 3,000 people missing on both sides of the Nepal-China border after a torrent of ice, rock, mud and debris swept through mountain valleys and rivers, causing widespread devastation. The Red Cross has estimated that more than 90,000 people are likely to have been affected by the disaster.
The scale of the disaster has complicated rescue efforts across the rugged Himalayan terrain. Local police in Nepal said residents and rescue workers had moved to higher ground after the Trishuli River’s water levels rose following fresh rainfall, raising fears of additional flooding.
Rescue operations have been suspended several times because of bad weather and concerns that a lake formed across the Nepal-China border could trigger fresh flooding. In Nepal, rescue efforts have increasingly focused on hydropower projects inundated by the floods, including the Upper Trishuli complex, where around 350 people could be trapped inside a tunnel.
About 10,000 Nepali troops have been deployed alongside specialist teams from China and India. Nepal’s military has airlifted heavy machinery to remote sites, while rescuers work to clear debris blocking access to tunnels and search for survivors.
Authorities have also begun mass burials of unidentified victims whose bodies have started to decompose, while Nepal has requested international assistance with tunnel rescue operations, DNA testing, refrigerated storage for bodies and forensic identification.
With thousands still missing and the threat of further flooding remaining, rescue teams are racing against time in one of the region’s most devastating disasters.
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