Nepal Floods: Hundreds Missing After Glacier Collapse Triggers Devastation

Rescue operations are continuing along the Nepal-China border on Thursday, with teams searching for hundreds of people still unaccounted for after a devastating flash flood. The torrent, triggered by a glacier collapse, swept through communities a day earlier, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

In Nepal's Nuwakot district, one of the hardest-hit areas, video footage shows buildings caked in mud up to their second floors. Survivors are coming to terms with their losses. Rajendra Chitrakar, a local resident, described losing everything in the deluge. "Rice, corn, clothes and the tea shop, everything was swept away by floods, only me left and this cloth," he said.

The scale of the disaster is immense. Nepalese officials report at least 826 people missing. Across the border in China's Tibet region, authorities have confirmed three deaths and 558 people missing.

The search and rescue effort is being hampered by severe infrastructure damage. Officials say dozens of bridges have been destroyed and nearly 40 kilometers of roads are damaged, cutting off access to some areas. The Nepalese army has been conducting helicopter operations, successfully rescuing more than 100 people from the flood-affected zones. Army teams have also evacuated individuals trapped in facilities associated with the Trishuli hydropower project.

On the ground, rescue officials and their dogs are meticulously combing through the debris, while earth movers work to clear blocked roads. The full extent of the catastrophe is still unfolding as teams race against time to find survivors.