The death toll from flash floods in Nepal rose to 675 on Saturday (August 29), with bodies continuing to be recovered as search and rescue operations pressed ahead amid renewed rainfall, rising water levels and fears of further flooding in the Bhotekoshi River basin.
The Nepal government promptly got into action, mobilising personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, as it mounted a massive search-and-rescue operation. India dispatches a tunnel rescue team to aid Nepal’s search efforts after devastating flash floods, with many missing. Nearly 2,400 people remained missing, including at least 320 foreign nationals, while more than 4,400 people have been rescued or evacuated so far as rescuers race against time to reach remote settlements cut off by the destruction of roads and bridges. China said the death toll from a mudslide that struck Tibet rose to 16 and 546 people were still missing, state media reported on Sunday (August 30), citing local officials. The extraordinary velocity and scale of the flash flood in the Bhotekoshi River at around 8.40 a.m. on Wednesday (August 26, 2026) have left more than 600 dead and close to 2,500 missing, including foreign nationals, mostly from India. A tunnel rescue team from India has reached Nepal on Saturday (August 29, 2026) to help the ongoing search-and-rescue operations in the aftermath of the flash floods, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. In its latest move, India has sent three aircraft carrying relief materials to Nepal since the disaster hit Bhote Kosi river region on August 26. The MEA has stated that at least 287 Indians remain missing as on Saturday (August 29, 2026) and in addition, 128 persons of Indian origin are also missing following the disaster.
Local officials said on Sunday morning at a press conference that “as of 6:00 pm on August 29th, the disaster had resulted in 16 deaths and left 546 people missing”, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
