Rescuers are intensifying efforts to find more than 4,000 people still missing following catastrophic flooding in Nepal and Tibet that has claimed at least 900 lives. The efforts are largely focused on locating workers trapped in at least a dozen hydroelectric plant sites across the affected regions.
Multiple international teams are assisting local rescuers in searching tunnels at Nepal's power plants, situated on rivers that flooded last Wednesday. Mohan Kumar Dangi, president of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), stated that at least 12 hydropower projects in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts were damaged, with approximately 900 individuals missing from these sites. Nepal's disaster agency reported 903 confirmed deaths and 4,247 people missing in the country, including 592 foreigners.
On the Tibetan side, Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, with 261 of the missing being foreigners, including over a hundred Nepalis. In the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district, at least 576 people are missing, with about 300 believed to be trapped within the project's tunnel.
Workers described the affected power station in Dhading, Nepal, as a critical hub supplying electricity to over 20,000 people. They expressed hope that the facility would not be rebuilt near the river. The rescue operations are concentrating on individuals trapped within the large tunnels constructed for hydropower generation and water flow control. Geoscientist Jakob Steiner explained that these tunnels are designed to be large enough for trucks and could potentially offer refuge, with efforts underway to supply oxygen to those inside.
On the Chinese side, recovery efforts have included rebuilding roads leading to Gyirong Port, a key border crossing with Nepal. State broadcaster CCTV showed trucks carrying large rocks as workers repaved a section of a road submerged under several feet of water, which has complicated rescue access.
The disaster was triggered by a glacial collapse high in the Himalayas. Scientists analyzing satellite imagery indicated that bedrock beneath a glacier gave way, causing a massive rockfall that registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event. The subsequent surge of rocks and meltwater intensified river flows, leading to widespread destruction downstream in Tibet and Nepal. Families are anxiously awaiting news of loved ones, with some individuals, like Maraval Nagappan, traveling to Nepal in search of missing relatives who were part of a pilgrimage group caught in the flooding at a Chinese immigration complex. Surveillance footage showed water inundating the complex as people attempted to escape, with some members of Nagappan's son's group reportedly identified among those fleeing.