Rescue Operations Enter Fourth Day Along Nepal-China Border as Severe Weather Delays Aerial Search

Adverse weather conditions forced a halt to helicopter operations Saturday as rescue teams pressed ahead with their fourth consecutive day of searching for hundreds of missing people in areas devastated by flash flooding along the Nepal-China border. The initial disaster struck Wednesday, claiming nearly 600 lives and leaving approximately 2,500 people unaccounted for across both nations. Nepali Army Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet announced that aerial operations would resume only after meteorological conditions improved.

Rescue and military personnel have maintained continuous operations since the disaster struck, with simultaneous search efforts underway at multiple sites in Nepal and China’s Tibet region. The Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the severely damaged Gyirong border crossing in China represent two critical focal points for the ongoing operation. Authorities believe more than 100 people remain trapped within a tunnel filled with thick mud at the hydropower construction site.

The rescue effort at the hydropower facility faces significant obstacles, with mud accumulation reaching 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) in depth and severe limitations on helicopter landing zones. Teams have employed baskets and ropes to extract some survivors from the affected areas. Rescue operations were temporarily suspended at certain locations after authorities warned of potential secondary flooding events.

A newly formed glacial lake high in the Himalayan peaks has triggered heightened concern among rescue coordinators and emergency officials. The lake, created when glacier collapse triggered the initial catastrophic floods, began overflowing during the search operation. Monitoring data released by China’s Ministry of Water Resources showed the lake level had decreased by 10 meters (32 feet) from its Thursday morning peak, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Nepal’s official death toll reached 579 people according to the country’s disaster-management authority on Friday, though police subsequently reported a lower figure of 553 fatalities. More than 3,700 individuals have been rescued throughout Nepal. The missing persons count in Nepal nearly doubled to 1,924 as additional local residents were added to official tallies, while China reported 554 missing persons on its side of the border.

In Nuwakot district, one of the hardest-hit Nepali areas, families gathered at relief centers Saturday to search for missing relatives. Military personnel posted lengthy lists of missing individuals on walls as anxious relatives crowded around to examine names and photograph documents. Many victims and missing persons are foreign nationals who were in the region for work, trekking expeditions, or religious pilgrimages to sacred peaks.

Rescue operations at Gyirong Port, the heavily damaged border crossing, progressed through multiple means including foot travel, rafts, and drone deployments to deliver personnel to the affected area. Video footage broadcast by Chinese state media showed rescue teams calling out “Anyone, anyone?” as they searched the devastated checkpoint building. The exact number of people present at the border facility when flooding occurred remained unclear.

Relief and supply vehicles continued traveling from Kathmandu toward the affected border regions throughout Saturday. China’s state media documented village evacuations and government coordination of emergency relief responses, with the Chinese death toll standing at seven as of Friday.