The number of people who died from the terrible floods near the Nepal-China border went over 800 on Sunday. Many people are still missing as rescue workers hurry to find survivors.
Authorities said that more than 3,000 people are still unaccounted for on both sides of the Nepal-China border.
The disaster hit the Gyirong border area in China's Tibet region and the Rasuwa district in northern Nepal, located in the Himalayan region.
On Wednesday, a rush of ice, rock, mud, and debris swept through the border area, destroying towns, roads, and bridges and causing a lot of deaths.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) mentioned that a major glacier collapse and landslide caused this disaster.
Nepalese officials linked the glacier collapse to flash floods that happened on the Nepal side of the Himalayan mountains.
Chinese authorities also reported that at least 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries are missing because of the disaster.
This includes 104 Nepalis, 49 Indians, and 33 Latvians.
A total of 18 Americans are also missing, along with 15 Britons, 6 Canadians, 6 Australians, and 3 Russians, Malaysians and Germans.
Nepal faces many climate disasters as the world heats up. Large areas of ice in the Himalayas are melting, and rocky mountainsides are becoming unstable.
Since Wednesday, countries and organizations worldwide have been sending help to Nepal. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised £5 million in aid.
After complaints that people were trapped in a tunnel, the government quickly sent a rescue team and worked to clear the entrance by removing debris.
The office of the Nepal prime minister said late on Saturday that rescue teams are trying every possible way to find the missing citizens.
"To speed up digging the tunnel entrance and search operations, a joint team of 82 personnel, including 62 from the Nepali Army and 20 from the Armed Police Force Nepal and Nepal Police, has been working continuously since last night. But the bad weather is making rescue efforts very tough," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
Nepal's Foreign Secretary, Amrit Rai, said that about 19,000 security personnel and 16 helicopters have been sent for the search and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, in China, a team of 2,141 rescuers has been sent to the border area, with over 500 in the hardest-hit locations.
A state broadcaster, CCTV, earlier reported that rescue operations were paused for a while due to the risk of more flooding from a new lake formed by the disaster. Operations resumed after the lake started to drain naturally.







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