Nepal floods toll reaches 1,344 as rescuers search for 4,898 missing

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Sep 5, 2026 13:04 IST

Nepal's flash flood death toll rose to 1,344 on Saturday as more bodies were recovered from affected districts, police said. Rescue teams were continuing to search for 4,898 people who remain missing, while more than 13,000 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepal's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The floods were triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 and devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. The Bhotekoshi River carried floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, and damaging hydropower projects.

Officials said that of the bodies recovered so far, 758 were adults and 85 were children, while 501 were recovered with body parts missing. They attributed the condition of the bodies to prolonged exposure to water and the weight of debris. So far, 1,030 bodies have been temporarily buried after required procedures, including DNA collection, were completed.

In Nepal, around 360 bodies have been recovered in Chitwan district alone, the highest among all districts. Bodies have also been recovered from Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Tanahun, Nawalparasi East and Nawalparasi West. Officials said the missing include more than 600 children in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.

Authorities continued to monitor water levels in several rivers, including the Koshi, Narayani, Bagmati, Karnali, Mahakali, Kankai, Kamal, Kamala, Babai, Eastern Rapti and Western Rapti, while joint rescue teams led by the Nepal Army continued search and rescue operations for the eleventh day. Major rescue operations were under way at hydropower projects in flood-hit districts, where hundreds of men are believed to be trapped in tunnels. Teams of experts from India and China were assisting their Nepali counterparts in the operations.

On Friday, two men were rescued alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project. The Nepal Army's Public Relations Directorate identified them as Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor on the project, and Sanjay Sah, 30, a foreman. Authorities said on Saturday that an Indian tunnel rescue team working with the Nepal Army had also made a temporary track inside the Chilime tunnel in flood-hit Rasuwa district to allow heavier equipment to reach the affected areas.

The disaster also killed at least 21 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports. As searches continued in Nepal on Saturday, officials were still recovering bodies, tracking rising water levels and pressing on with rescue efforts in some of the worst-hit areas.

With PTI Inputs

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