Nearly 2,500 missing in Nepal and China intensify rescue work | Today’s news

Nearly 2,500 people are missing after flash floods devastated a mountainous region between Nepal and China, with authorities on both sides of the border stepping up rescue efforts.

At least 579 people have been confirmed dead, while 1,924 people remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners from India, Malaysia, Australia and the US, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in a post on X. This was nearly double its previous estimate of missing people. According to state broadcaster CGTN, China said its death toll had reached seven, with 554 missing.

The disaster was triggered on Wednesday by a glacial collapse that sent ice, mud, rocks and fast-moving water soaring through a valley in Nepal, destroying entire settlements in its path. Videos showed people trying to escape as walls of water and debris engulfed buildings, tore down bridges and carried away trees, boulders and vehicles.

Nepal has mobilized about 15,000 workers for demanding rescue missions, including in sludge-soaked settlements and hydroelectric projects where workers have been trapped in tunnels. The military has “intensified its operations” and “deployed special teams and is actively collecting bodies at a rapid pace,” the prime minister’s office said on social media.

Rescue efforts in the remote region have hampered the risk of further flooding as rivers clogged with mud and debris have created unstable new lakes upstream. Authorities were keeping a close watch on such lakes, some of which were quickly filling with water that could burst its banks uncontrollably.

Separately, Prime Minister Balendra Shah denied reports that Nepal had rejected foreign aid, saying the government was coordinating with India, China and others.

The country will need at least “several billion dollars” to recover from the devastation that has prompted the $45 billion economy to seek international funding for massive reconstruction, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday.

This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.