Nepal-China Border Catastrophe: Death Toll Surpasses 670 as Nearly 3,000 Remain Missing Amid Mudslides and Flooding

Search continues for hundreds missing after Nepal floods

Rescue crews in Nepal are searching for hundreds of people missing after devastating floods, including dozens of Americans still unaccounted for. Fox News foreign correspondent Jeff Paul reports on the urgent recovery effort on ‘America Reports.’

The death toll from the devastating floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border has climbed to at least 676 people, with rescue operations stalling due to poor weather conditions.

Following an update from Nepali authorities on Saturday, the combined death toll in Nepal and Tibet reached 676, with nearly 3,000 individuals still unaccounted for, according to The Associated Press. Chinese officials reported seven fatalities and over 550 missing persons, while Nepal’s disaster management agency confirmed 669 deaths and 2,426 people missing.

Specialists indicate that Wednesday’s mudslides and flash flooding across Nepal and China’s Tibet region were triggered by a substantial portion of ice breaking away from a glacier and plunging into the Lhende Khola River. Rescue efforts at the primary disaster site have been hampered by damaged roadways and communication challenges, conditions expected to worsen as intermittent rainfall persists throughout the weekend.

“Search and rescue operations have been temporarily halted because it is raining, and the weather is foggy,” stated Narendra Pariyar, a senior official for Nepal’s Rasuwa district, in remarks to Reuters.

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A man holds an umbrella as he stands in front of damaged buildings after flash floods and a mudslide, in Trishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 29, 2026. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

While Nepali officials have emphasized that they do not require international personnel for general search and rescue operations, they have specifically requested that China provide tunnel engineering experts, as up to 100 individuals remain trapped inside a hydropower plant tunnel filled with mud.

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“We have already made requests for such specialised services and technical assistance in areas where we don’t have enough expertise and technical know-how,” Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told Reuters.

In response, China deployed five such specialists from Tibet via helicopter to provide assistance, according to the state-affiliated Xinhua news agency.

Chinese rescue workers arrive at Maithali Barrack, an army training centre that serves as a primary base for airlifting survivors, following deadly flash floods and a mudslide in Trishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 29, 2026. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

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Dramatic footage captured the dramatic rescue of one such individual, with Nepali authorities working to extract the man from the thick mud.

Although anticipated rainstorms are poised to further complicate rescue operations, officials report that a previous threat from a lake that had formed along the Nepal-Tibet border has largely diminished.

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The lake had been discharging overflow into the Lhende Khola River, creating risks of additional flooding, but Chinese officials confirmed that this danger had significantly decreased by Saturday.

A satellite image shows one of two lakes at the site of the glacial collapse,in the border area between Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region, China, August 28, 2026. (SPOT ©CNES 2026, Distribution Airbus DS/Handout via REUTERS)

Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle projected that the country will require more than $4 billion for reconstruction efforts following the disaster.

“This is just an estimate. Loss and damage is being assessed,” he informed Reuters.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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