Rescuers comb through mud and debris as Nepal-China floods leave more
than 1,000 dead
[September 01, 2026]
By SHRISTI KAFLE and SHEIKH SAALIQ
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescue teams with search dogs combed through
mud, rocks and debris Tuesday in Nepal and China looking for thousands
of people still missing after catastrophic flooding tore through
communities across the Himalayas, leaving more than 1,000 dead.
Nepal’s disaster agency said Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted
there, with 3,916 people missing, including 583 foreigners. Chinese
authorities, in their latest update on Sunday, reported 16 deaths and
546 people still missing, including 261 foreigners.
The scale of last week's disaster was hampering rescue efforts in both
regions, with landslides, destroyed roads and widespread damage cutting
off remote areas. Crews faced challenging conditions as they searched
unstable terrain and piles of debris, raising fears the death toll could
rise as rescuers reach isolated communities.
Rescuers race to reach missing hydropower workers
In Nepal, rescuers were racing to reach hundreds of workers believed to
be trapped inside tunnels at hydropower projects damaged by the floods.
About 900 workers are missing from 12 projects, with roughly 500
believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to Nepalese authorities.
Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, Nepal’s army spokesperson, said teams
assisted by foreign experts were working at several hydropower projects.
Visuals released by the army showed rescue teams entering dark,
debris-filled tunnels, wading through mud and water and climbing over
rocks as they searched for signs of life.
On the Chinese side, rescue crews scoured areas hit by mudslides,
particularly around the Gyirong Port border crossing, which was
destroyed.
Some rescuers, aided by search dogs, searched gaps among rocks and
debris for signs of life. Other teams used heavy machinery to clear a
major highway leading to Gyirong Port, hoping to clear the way for
equipment, personnel and supplies to reach the disaster zone, according
to China's state-run Global Times newspaper.
Relief operations expand to reach stranded communities
At least 11,814 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepalese
authorities. Emergency crews were using helicopters and other aircraft
to reach stranded communities in areas where roads and bridges have been
destroyed by the flooding and landslides.
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A resident shows a holy book as he salvages his belongings from
damaged home filled with mud and debris in Devighat, in Nepal's
Nuwakot district, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, following the Aug. 26
flash floods. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Authorities on Tuesday also stepped up efforts to provide assistance
to survivors in areas where roads and other transportation routes
had been damaged or cut off.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China’s second
batch of relief supplies for Nepal was expected to ship Tuesday,
including drones, DNA testing and water purification equipment.
Chinese DNA testing experts will also help Nepal identity bodies, he
said.
Bimal Sharma, a helicopter pilot who has been flying rescue and
relief missions since the disaster began, said he was shocked to see
the devastation in Timure, a border town close to Tibet that he has
known for years.
“It felt like I was flying over an entirely different landscape,” he
said.
Sharma said he has had little opportunity to speak with the people
he rescued, but their expressions told him how deeply the disaster
had affected them.
“I can see the pain in their eyes. It’s heartbreaking,” he said.
The disaster began with a glacial collapse high in the Himalayas
The Aug. 26 disaster began with a chain of events high in the
Himalayas. A glacial collapse sent large amounts of rock, ice and
meltwater into valleys below, triggering powerful floods downstream.
Scientists studying satellite imagery said the collapse appears to
have involved the failure of bedrock beneath a glacier in the
Himalayan region. The rockfall was powerful enough to register as a
magnitude 5.2 seismic event.
The resulting surge of water and debris entered rivers that flow
through valleys in Tibet and Nepal, causing them to rise rapidly.
Floodwaters swept away homes, buildings, roads and bridges and
carried mud and rocks downstream.
___
Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalists E.
Eduardo Castillo in Beijing and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed
to this report.
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