The China Mail - Nepal-Tibet flood toll reaches 584 as more than 2,400 remain missing

The death toll from catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border reached at least 584 on Friday, while more than 2,400 people remained missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals.

Nepal's disaster authority reported 579 deaths in the country, and Chinese state media confirmed five deaths from Wednesday's disaster. A wall of freezing water, mud and debris buried homes, destroyed bridges and swept away vehicles across remote border areas.

The US Geological Survey said a glacial collapse triggered the enormous flow of icy debris. The disaster is Nepal's deadliest since the 2015 earthquake.

Nepali soldiers were trying to reach about 100 people trapped in a tunnel. Rescue operations were complicated by unstable slopes, destroyed infrastructure, remote terrain and the danger of further flooding.

Chinese authorities paused rescue work in their hardest-hit zone because a barrier lake formed by the disaster could breach. State media said inflows might reach about three million cubic metres over three days amid continued rain, putting Gyirong Port and other downstream areas at risk. Nepalese police issued an alert after receiving a report that an upstream dam on the Tibetan side had burst, directing rescuers and the public toward safer ground.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of senior leaders on the rescue effort. State media said officials ordered searches for missing people on both sides of the border and were considering emergency aid to Nepal and international relief cooperation.

Nepal appealed for domestic and international financial assistance but said its security forces were coping without foreign rescue teams. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri said the government would request specialised help if necessary.

More than 700 foreigners had been reported missing earlier in the operation. US officials said about 90 Americans were unaccounted for as of late Thursday, while three had been rescued and no American deaths had been confirmed. Many of the missing were pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

Earlier nationality figures included nine Singaporeans, eight Germans, eight Russians, six South Africans, six Latvians, five Japanese, five New Zealanders, four French citizens, four Spaniards, three Belgians, three Hungarians, three Italians, three Portuguese citizens and two Dutch nationals. Some figures differed between national authorities and Nepal's tourism board as searches continued.

Indian officials recovered seven bodies from rivers in Uttar Pradesh, including four in Maharajganj and three in Kushinagar, and said they appeared to have been carried downstream from Nepal.

C.Fong--ThChM