Nepal-China Floods Death Toll Reaches 633, Near 3,000 Missing

Death Toll and Missing Persons Surge Along the Nepal-China Border

The disaster, triggered by days of relentless heavy rainfall in the high-altitude terrain, intensified significantly as emergency crews recovered additional bodies across the Bagmati province and surrounding districts. According to the Nepal disaster management agency, the country’s domestic death toll reached 626, while officials in the neighboring Xigazê (Rikaze) city’s Gyirong (Jilong) county in the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region reported 7 fatalities resulting from a severe debris flow (mudslide) linked to the weather system. The combined death toll across both jurisdictions stands at 633, according to AP and AFP reports.

The number of missing individuals climbed sharply, with domestic figures in Nepal rising from an earlier estimate of 1,924 to 2,426. Coupled with 554 missing persons reported in Tibet, the total number of missing individuals stands at 2,980. Among those unaccounted for are more than 500 foreign nationals originating from approximately 30 countries, including India and the United States.

Impact on Foreign Nationals and South Korean Workers

The missing population includes nine South Korean nationals who lost communication following the onset of the floods, according to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reporting from The Korea Economic Daily. The affected South Korean citizens comprise six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three workers from Korea Southern Power (KOSPO) who were stationed at the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydroelectric power plant construction site.

In response to the escalating crisis, the Nepalese government initially relied heavily on its own military and police forces for search and extraction efforts. However, facing mounting scale and technological hurdles, Kathmandu shifted its stance to request international technical support, specifically asking foreign specialists for assistance with tunneling rescue operations and advanced DNA identification methods, according to government statements cited by Yonhap News Agency via media reports.

Diplomatic Responses and International Assistance

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it has formally communicated an offer to dispatch an emergency disaster relief team to Nepal and is currently in active bilateral negotiations regarding deployment logistics. Neighboring and international governments are coordinating with local authorities to ascertain the safety of stranded workers and provide specialized equipment required for difficult high-altitude search operations.

Following the floods, archival educational media produced by the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) documenting Himalayan glacial hazards gained widespread public attention online as researchers emphasized the growing risks of extreme weather events in fragile mountain ecosystems.