Missing toll in Nepal floods surges to 823 as death count hits 270

The number of people missing after massive floods struck Nepal's Himalayan mountain region has risen to 823 within two days of the disaster, with the death toll reaching 270.

Nepal's disaster authorities said Wednesday that floods in Bagmati Province in the country's north had left 823 people missing, according to local outlet Online Khabar and AFP.

The missing count had stood at 484 on Wednesday before surging by more than 300 in a single day as reports continued to pour in.

Of the total missing, 517 are foreign nationals and more than 200 are Nepali citizens. The missing foreigners are believed to be from about 30 countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Italy and Ukraine.

Nine of 10 South Korean nationals affiliated with Doosan Enerbility who had been stranded in the area were evacuated to safety Thursday. The remaining person, the site manager, stayed behind, along with two South Korean Embassy staff members — a consul and an administrative employee.

The death toll climbed sharply from 157 on Wednesday to 270.

Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kaple said authorities had resumed search operations and expected to recover more bodies. "The death toll will rise," he said.

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 80 bridges and 40 kilometers of roads had been damaged, and that 83 security personnel — including police and soldiers — were among the missing.

A landslide apparently linked to the floods also struck Gyirong County in Shigatse, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region bordering Nepal, killing three people and leaving 558 missing, including 260 foreign nationals.

The combined missing count across Nepal and Tibet exceeds 1,300. India's Ministry of External Affairs said Thursday that 288 Indian nationals were missing in Nepal and another 200 were stranded in Tibet.

The US Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude-4.4 earthquake in the Tibet region but later issued a revised statement saying no earthquake had occurred.

Authorities believe the collapse of large glaciers and rock masses generated seismic-like shockwaves, with the resulting debris flows sweeping downstream and triggering the floods.

Such floods can occur when a natural dam of ice and rock holding back a lake suddenly gives way. Experts have raised the possibility that this disaster was caused by the collapse of glaciers and rock formations driven by climate change in the Himalayas linked to global warming.

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com