Nepal races to rescue trapped workers, as flood death toll surpasses 900

By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters. Published On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Along with the 933 missing hydropower workers, some 500 workers from the Truck and Container Association are additionally missing, stated Fernandez.
• China's state-run CCTV remarked the administration has mobilised more than 2, 100 rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan ($33mn) to backing relief efforts.
• The flood additionally wreaked havoc throughout the border in China's Tibet region, where at least 16 individuals died and 546 are missing, remarked Chinese authorities.
• The Red Cross has estimated that more than 90, 000 individuals are probable to have been affected by the disaster.
• Beijing remarked 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries were unaccounted for in Tibet.

Nepal's rescue teams, aided by Chinese and Indian experts, are racing to save more than 900 workers believed to be trapped underground at hydropower projects hit by devastating flash floods.

Nepali authorities stated on Monday that the focus was on reaching the workers in regarding a dozen hydropower project tunnels blocked by mud and rock debris.

In practice, the unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris on the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday – caused by a glacier collapse – has killed 903 individuals with 4, 247 missing in Nepal, its disaster authority stated.

In practice, the flood additionally wreaked havoc throughout the border in China's Tibet region, where at least 16 individuals died and 546 are missing, remarked Chinese authorities.

Pictures and videos shared by rescue teams in Nepal indicated earth-moving equipment digging and shovelling mud and rocks under lights in the dark of the night as workers watched. Soldiers applied torchlights in a sizeable pit they had created to look for space to obtain into one tunnel.

"A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels, " Nepal army spokesperson, Raja Ram Basnet, informed the Reuters news agency. "Our main focus is on opening the tunnels."

Hundreds of bodies, plenty of unidentified, have been buried in shallow graves as they began decomposing in the humid weather after being swept down the mountains by the torrent.

At a hospital in the capital of Kathmandu, morgues have reached capacity and families are flocking to other hospitals in hopes of finding missing loved ones, documented Al Jazeera's Minelle Fernandez.

Notably, the Red Cross has estimated that more than 90, 000 individuals are probable to have been affected by the disaster. It china has linked to the effects of climate change.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah remarked the flood was an "unprecedented and devastating natural disaster" and it remained challenging to compile a complete assessment of the damage.

"Despite the adverse weather, difficult terrain and continuing risks, we are moving forward with determination to save the lives of our citizens, " he remarked in a Facebook post late on Sunday, adding that almost 21, 000 security personnel were involved in rescue operations, besides civilian workers and volunteers.

While accessibility has been restored on plenty of roads and highways, almost "40 kilometres of roads have been absolutely swept away", Al Jazeera's Fernandez stated.

"So there are challenges on the ground in getting this aid to communities, but the authorities, as well as the agencies and their networks are working their way through it." China sends experts, aid.

China's state-run CCTV remarked the administration has mobilised more than 2, 100 rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan ($33mn) to backing relief efforts. While Chinese soldiers applied life-detection equipment to look for the missing, equipment and supplies have been airdropped to frontline rescuers.

"President Xi Jinping, according to state media, has called for all out efforts to rescue those missing in the mudslide, and this is the second time that the president has made such a call, " remarked Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing.

"So this seems to be the Chinese leader's effort to call on people, not only to continue their efforts, but redouble their efforts even as things are looking grimmer and grimmer."

China has sent nine tunnel rescue experts to Nepal and shared satellite information with Nepalese authorities, remarked Yu.

Although Nepal has remarked it does not need foreign assist in general search and rescue efforts, it has accepted support from giant neighbours India and China for their expertise in tunnel rescue.

Rescue operations have been suspended a number of times since Friday as of bad weather and reservations that a lake, formed throughout the Nepal-China border by the disaster, could trigger new flooding after it began overflowing into Nepal's rivers.

In practice, the weather was good on Monday and rescue work continued to pick up pace, remarked Narendra Pariyar, the district administrator of Rasuwa, one of the two hard-hit districts.

For now, nepal races to rescue trapped workers, as flood death toll surpasses 900 remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.