Kathmandu, August 30: The death toll from flash floods in Nepal has risen to 788, while 2,502 people remain missing, according to data released by Nepal Police and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) on Sunday.
Nepal Police said 788 bodies had been recovered by 3 PM, with Chitwan reporting the highest number of deaths at 264, followed by Nawalparasi East with 194, Nawalparasi West with 120, Gorkha with 58, Nuwakot with 52, Dhading with 50, Tanahun with 37 and Rasuwa with 13.
NDRRMA reported that 2,502 people were still missing as of 1 PM as rescue and search operations continued across the affected areas. Unidentified bodies have been kept at 21 hospitals while authorities carry out identification procedures.
Among those reported missing are 933 workers from regional hydropower projects, 592 foreign nationals and 127 Nepali citizens travelling with foreign groups. Missing reports also include personnel from the Nepal Police, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Customs Office and Immigration Office.
At least 239 injured people have received treatment or been discharged, with six surgical medical teams deployed in the affected areas.
Nearly 20,000 security personnel have been engaged in rescue operations, with ground teams rescuing 8,730 people. Helicopter crews have carried out 363 flights and airlifted 3,081 people, including 236 foreigners. Authorities also reported the rescue of 279 people from a flooded hydropower tunnel.
The Nepal government has released emergency financial assistance, including NPR 10 million each for Rasuwa and Nuwakot, NPR 5 million for Dhading and NPR 67.5 million for 15 local governments.
Relief operations have also sent 50 transport vehicles and eight helicopter flights carrying food, communication equipment and emergency supplies to isolated areas, including Uttargaya and Dhunche. Fuel reserves are being managed to support continued rescue and relief operations.
Relief materials are being transported from Kathmandu to flood-affected areas, while families of missing people continue to visit the morgue at the Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine as authorities work to identify recovered bodies.
Search operations are also continuing for workers trapped inside the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project tunnel. Families have expressed concern over the lack of communication with those inside.
Sher Bahadur Shahi, whose son is among those trapped, told ANI that his son, a mechanical engineer working on the project, had not been rescued and that families had been unable to establish contact with the workers.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday that four Indian nationals trapped at a hydropower project in Rasuwa had been rescued. The four, identified as Ripu Kumar, Chaneshwar Narzary, Kripa Shankar and Mohammed Minhajuddin, were being transported to Kathmandu.