Nepal-China flood disaster: What’s the latest toll, how many are missing?

The death toll from devastating floods near the border between Nepal and China has risen to nearly 800, with thousands missing following Wednesday’s disaster.

Rescue efforts are under way to locate more than 900 missing workers at hydropower projects in central Nepal.
Authorities from Nepal and the Tibet region of China have put the total number of missing at just over 3,000, with some bodies washing up in neighbouring India.

A glacier collapse high in the Himalaya mountains in Nepal near the border with Tibet triggered Wednesday’s catastrophic flooding and landslides, which buried villages and towns along the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river systems.

On Friday, rising water levels in a new lake formed by the build-up of debris prompted a temporary halt to search efforts amid fears of a second flood. Rescue operations resumed after the lake threat was deemed manageable.

Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said that Chinese authorities say the risk seems to have been reduced, but it has not disappeared.

“They are closely monitoring the barrier lake, located one km upstream at the port of Gyirong and the border area. They are closely monitoring using satellites, radars, and drones,” she said, adding that “authorities are confident that if the situation around the barrier lake should deteriorate, they will be able to give notice of about 30 minutes to rescuers below”.