The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 1,344. Rescue operations are underway in eight affected districts, while around 5,000 people remain missing. More than 13,000 people have been rescued so far.
In Nuwakot district, a 60-year-old woman was rescued alive after being trapped for 10 days under the debris of a four-storey house.
She was shifted to hospital for treatment. Nepal has begun using DNA testing to identify victims, as many bodies have been severely damaged or recovered in parts. So far, only 96 bodies have been identified and handed over to their families.
The disaster also killed at least 21 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, media reports said. Of the total bodies recovered in Nepal’s eight districts so far, 758 were adults, 85 were children and 501 were recovered with body parts missing, officials said, attributing the condition of the bodies to prolonged exposure to water and the weight of debris.
The flash floods were triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26. The disaster caused widespread destruction in northern and central Nepal, damaging homes, roads, bridges and hydropower projects. Meanwhile, rescue teams from Nepal, India and China are continuing joint operations to rescue people trapped inside tunnels at flood-hit hydropower projects.
