At least 633 people have died after a devastating wall of water and debris swept through Himalayan communities, with fears the toll could rise

Rescuers in Nepal and China were racing on Saturday, August 29, 2026, to find nearly 3,000 people reported missing after a catastrophic wall of water, ice and debris swept through Himalayan communities, killing at least 633 people and leaving thousands facing an uncertain wait for news of relatives.

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Nepal’s disaster authorities added 933 hydropower workers to the missing persons list as the scale of Wednesday’s disaster continued to emerge, alongside trekkers, pilgrims and residents caught in the torrent.

The latest figures put Nepal’s death toll at 626, with 2,426 people still out of contact.

Across the border in Tibet, seven people had been confirmed dead and another 554 were missing, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

Authorities in Tibet said 555 stranded tourists and 499 Chinese residents had been evacuated from affected areas.

The Nepal China flood has also produced signs of a wider humanitarian emergency, with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimating that as many as 93,000 people could have been affected.

The full extent of the devastation remains difficult to establish because several affected areas are remote and, in Tibet, access for foreign journalists is heavily restricted.

Survivors on the Nepalese side have described scenes of extraordinary destruction, with entire settlements along rivers apparently swept away within minutes.

“All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left,” survivor Buddhi Dangol told AFP.

For families of those still missing, the disaster has become a painful wait.

Samjhana Thing said she had spent three days without news of her brother.

“We don’t know anything. Hopefully he is in a safe place,” she said.

Search efforts face new danger

The rescue operation has been complicated by the possibility of further flooding.

The torrents of ice and mud created huge temporary lakes in parts of the affected region, raising fears that another sudden release of water could endanger survivors and emergency teams.

Nepalese police warned rescuers to move to safer locations after receiving information that another water barrier had burst on the Tibetan side.

In Gyirong, one of the worst-hit areas in Tibet, Chinese authorities temporarily suspended rescue operations because of the risk of renewed flooding.

The threat later eased, while Xinhua reported that two villagers had been rescued early on Saturday.

On the Nepalese side, the military has been working to reach people trapped inside tunnels at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project.

Army spokesman Raja Basnet said helicopters had been deployed, although rescuers were struggling to locate the entrances to the tunnels.

“Two helicopters have been dispatched, but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel,” Basnet told AFP.

About 350 workers and residents had been brought to safety from the site, according to the army, while efforts continued to reach more than 100 people believed to remain trapped.

The hydropower industry has emerged as one of the hardest-hit sectors because several major projects are located along the Trishuli valley.

Workers caught in the devastation

Survivors have described how quickly the disaster overwhelmed the area.

Buddha Tamang, who worked at a dam project, said he survived because he was inside a tunnel when the flood struck.

“The senior officers working on the other side, they were all swept away,” Tamang told AFP.

He was airlifted to safety on Thursday after spending more than 24 hours stranded.

The loss of infrastructure has also complicated the delivery of food, drinking water and medical supplies, with emergency teams warning that resources in some isolated communities were running dangerously low.

The disaster has also disrupted routes used by international pilgrims travelling towards Mount Kailash, one of the most revered sites in Hinduism and other Asian religions.

Pilgrims among the missing

Scores of pilgrims were travelling towards the Chinese border when the flooding struck.

Sivaranjani Muthunathan, 46, was travelling by bus with 56 other people when the group became trapped.

At first, they believed they were caught in an ordinary traffic jam.

“Then there was fog, smoke, something that seemed to suddenly engulf us,” Muthunathan told AFP.

She recorded a video showing the torrent moving towards the vehicle.

As water and debris surged through the area, vehicles were swept away or buried beneath mud.

“One by one, we also climbed out through the driver’s side,” she said, describing how the passengers scrambled towards higher ground.

The disaster has also spilled beyond Nepal and China.

Indian authorities said seven bodies had been recovered from rivers flowing from Nepal, with the victims believed to have been carried downstream by the floodwaters.

That has raised concerns that the eventual death toll could be considerably higher than the confirmed figures.

A region facing an agonising recovery

For those who survived, the immediate challenge extends beyond the search for missing relatives.

Homes, roads, bridges and essential infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed, leaving communities facing the difficult task of securing basic necessities while rescue teams continue their work.

The Red Cross has warned of the enormous psychological trauma caused by the disaster, particularly among families who remain without information about loved ones.

With thousands still missing and additional flooding remaining a threat, authorities in Nepal and China face a race against time to reach isolated communities and identify survivors.

For families gathered in shelters and communities waiting for word from relatives, however, the search is deeply personal.

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Each helicopter flight, rescue team and recovered body carries the possibility of either heartbreaking confirmation or the long-awaited news that a missing loved one has survived.