Death toll from devastating floods in China and Nepal surpasses 1,000

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Nepal and China has surpassed 1,000 and more than 4,400 people remain missing as rescue crews work to reach communities cut off by the disaster.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said on Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted in the country, with 3,916 people missing , including 583 foreigners.

Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 people still missing, including 261 foreigners, in their most recent update on Sunday.

The disaster hit on August 26, beginning with a chain of events high in the Himalayas, when a glacial collapse sent large amounts of rock, ice and meltwater into valleys below, triggering powerful floods downstream.

Scientists studying satellite imagery said the collapse appears to have involved the failure of bedrock beneath a glacier.

Hundreds of workers are feared to be trapped in tunnels at several devastated hydropower stations in Nepal that have become the focus of rescue efforts .

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said 279 workers had been rescued from hydropower projects so far, where authorities had initially estimated that more than 900 people were missing.

More than 11,000 people have been rescued across the affected region, and power and communication lines have been restored in some areas, he added.