The death toll from the devastating floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border has risen to at least 676 people, as rescue operations stall amid poor weather.
After Nepali authorities updated their figures Saturday, the combined toll in Nepal and Tibet rose to 676 dead and nearly 3,000 people missing, according to The Associated Press. Chinese authorities have reported seven deaths and more than 550 missing, while Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll had climbed to 669 with 2,426 people missing.
Experts believe Wednesday's mudslides and flash flooding across Nepal and China's Tibet region were caused by a large chunk of ice breaking off a glacier and falling into the Lhende Khola River. Rescue operations at the main disaster zone have been complicated by damaged roads and difficulty establishing communication, and look only to get more difficult, as intermittent rain is expected through the weekend.
"Search and rescue operations have been temporarily halted because it is raining, and the weather is foggy," Narendra Pariyar, a top official for Nepal's Rasuwa district, told Reuters.
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While Nepalese authorities have stressed they don't need countries to send people to help with general search and rescue, they did request that China send tunnel experts as up to 100 people are still trapped in a mud-filled hydropower plant tunnel.
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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.
China dispatched five such workers from Tibet by helicopter to assist, according to the country's state-affiliated Xinhua news agency.
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Dramatic video showed the rescue of one such person as authorities from Nepal worked to drag the man out of the mud deluge.
Though impending rainstorms are likely to make rescue operations more difficult, officials say a previous threat from a lake that had formed on the border between Nepal and Tibet has substantially subsided.
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The lake had been overflowing into the Lhende Khola River, risking further flooding, but that risk had gone down by Saturday, according to Chinese officials.
Nepal's finance minister Swarnim Wagle estimated the country will need over $4 billion to rebuild after the disaster.
"This is just an estimate. Loss and damage is being assessed," he told Reuters.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
