Adedokun Waliyu 
The number of people missing in Nepal and China has risen to more than 2,400 following devastating floods and landslides that swept away villages and killed hundreds.
Rescuers have recovered hundreds of bodies while continuing their search for survivors amid the threat of further flooding. Some victims were reportedly swept downstream into India.
Nepal’s disaster authority added 933 hydropower workers to the missing list, which already included trekkers and pilgrims travelling to Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.
The United States Geological Survey said the disaster, described as Nepal’s deadliest since the 2015 earthquake, was caused by a glacial collapse that triggered a massive flow of ice and debris.
The floods also created huge lakes, one of which posed a fresh danger to rescue workers. Nepali police urged rescuers to immediately move to safer locations after receiving information that another water dam had burst on the Tibetan side.
TUNNEL RESCUE OPERATION
Emergency teams have been working to rescue survivors trapped in affected areas, where supplies of food and water were becoming scarce.
The Nepali military located people trapped inside a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project and began efforts to reach them.
Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said two helicopters had been deployed, although locating the tunnel entrances remained difficult.
About 350 workers and residents had been rescued from the site, while efforts continued to save more than 100 people trapped in the area.
One survivor, Buddha Tamang, said he escaped because he was inside a tunnel when the flood struck. He was later airlifted after spending more than 24 hours stranded.
‘WASHED AWAY’
Survivors in temporary hospitals continued to wait anxiously for information about missing relatives.
Kula Priya, whose eldest son was missing, said she had lost everything when the wave of mud and water swept through the area.
Nepal reported 579 deaths on Friday. In neighbouring India, authorities recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be victims of the floods.
Nepal’s disaster authority said 1,924 people, including 517 foreigners, remained out of contact. The previous missing figure was 977.
Across the border in Tibet, Chinese authorities reported that 558 people were missing and five had died.
Authorities also said 555 stranded tourists and 499 Chinese residents had been evacuated from Tibet.
PILGRIMAGE ROUTE
Hindu pilgrims from different parts of the world were among those affected, as many were travelling towards Mount Kailash on the Chinese side of the border.
Sivaranjani Muthunathan, who was travelling by bus with 56 others towards the Chinese border, described how they became trapped by the disaster.
She said fog and smoke suddenly surrounded them before a torrent of water and debris surged towards their vehicles. Some vehicles were swept away or buried under mud.
The group managed to escape by climbing out through the driver’s side of the bus and scrambling up a nearby hill.
