Death toll from Nepal floods exceeds 900
The death toll from Nepal's floods has surpassed 900. The Kathmandu disaster management office said on Monday, August 31, that 903 bodies had been recovered from the country.
Including the officially confirmed deaths in China, the total death toll from the disaster has reached at least 919.
The number of missing people in Nepal has also risen significantly, to 4,247, of whom 592 are foreign nationals. In China, 546 people are reported missing, including three German citizens.
**Thousands of people involved in rescue efforts**
Thousands of rescuers have been involved in the search for missing people in southwestern Tibet and flood-hit areas of Nepal.
Rescuers are focusing on several damaged hydroelectric power plants. Hundreds of workers are believed to be trapped in a tunnel of one of the dams.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by rising water levels and adverse weather conditions. The risk of new landslides and flooding is also a serious concern. More rain is expected in the region in the coming days.
The delivery of aid to the victims is also being hampered. The floods and landslides have destroyed important roads and bridges, including the main highway connecting the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, with the southern regions of the country.
**Unidentified bodies being buried in mass graves**
According to news agencies and local media reports, the bodies of unidentified victims have begun to be buried in mass graves in Nepal.
At the same time, DNA samples are being taken from the deceased and special identification marks are being placed on the bodies. This is done so that relatives can later identify and collect the bodies.
In Nepal, where Hinduism is widespread, the deceased are usually cremated. Therefore, burial in mass graves is seen as a temporary way to preserve the bodies. However, the decision has been criticized on social media for not following traditional burial rites.
According to Nepalese officials, many bodies have been found in the south of the country, dozens of kilometers from the flooded areas. The administration of the Chitwan district, which borders India, said that it was not possible to quickly identify them because many of the bodies were found in a state of severe decomposition.
Experts also warn of the risk of spreading infectious diseases.
**Floods in Nepal and China**
Floods hit the high-mountainous Rasuwa region of Nepal, which borders Tibet, on the morning of August 26.
According to Nepalese Foreign Minister Shishir Khanala, the natural disaster may have been caused by a landslide. An earthquake or glacier melt caused a huge amount of mud and rocks to fall into the Bhote Koshi River, which originates in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and flows through Nepal's Bagmati Province. As a result, the river overflowed its banks.
Tibet is currently almost closed to foreign journalists. This makes it difficult to independently cover the scale of the natural disaster in the region.
According to the Uzbek embassy in Delhi (which also operates in Nepal), there are no reports of Uzbeks among the dead or injured in the disaster.
A Kazakh tourist who traveled from China to Nepal as part of a group is also being searched. According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, another Kazakh national is currently missing.