Nepal floods: Death toll rises to 734, with 2,498 still missing

New Delhi: Nepal’s death toll from the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river floods has risen to 734, while 2,498 people remain missing, according to the latest figures from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). The disaster has entered its fifth day, with rescuers still searching for the missing and evacuating people stranded in remote areas.

The NDRRMA said in an update issued at 9am on Sunday that 734 bodies, including human remains, had been recovered so far. Chitwan has recorded the highest number, at 259, followed by Nawalparasi East with 184 and Nawalparasi West with 82.

Gorkha has reported 58 bodies, Nuwakot 52, Dhading 50, Tanahun 36 and Rasuwa 13. Many victims were carried hundreds of kilometres downstream by the floodwaters.

Rasuwa has the highest number of missing, at 562, followed by Nuwakot with 115 and Makawanpur with 65. The missing list also includes 933 people linked to hydropower projects, 589 foreign nationals and 127 Nepalis travelling with them.

Eighty-five security personnel remain unaccounted for: 45 from the Nepali Army, 27 from Nepal Police and 13 from the Armed Police Force. The government has also confirmed 242 people injured, including those still under treatment and those already discharged.

Nearly 19,895 security personnel have been mobilized for search, rescue and relief operations, comprising 8,399 Nepali Army personnel, 7,213 police personnel and 4,203 from the Armed Police Force. Authorities say 8,186 people have been rescued so far.

Helicopters have been central to the effort. They evacuated 279 people trapped inside a hydropower tunnel over two days, and rescued another 227 foreign nationals by air.

The scale of the death toll has created a major identification challenge. Unidentified bodies have been sent to 21 hospitals across different districts for preservation, a process expected to require forensic examination and DNA analysis where remains cannot be identified locally.

The government has begun distributing relief funds in the worst-hit areas. Rasuwa and Nuwakot have each received Rs100 million in cash assistance, Dhading has received Rs50 million, and a further Rs675 million has been distributed among 15 local units across the affected districts.

Authorities have also dispatched 37 trucks carrying food and non-food supplies, and run seven helicopter flights for relief deliveries, including two tonnes of food airlifted to Uttargaya and Dhunche on Saturday. Nuwakot is maintaining fuel reserves for rescue and heavy equipment work, with 36,000 litres of diesel and 24,000 litres of petrol in storage; about 25,000 litres of aviation fuel have already been used, with 14,000 litres left in stock.

As reported by RNA, China has separately sent 50 tonnes of emergency relief supplies to Nepal, on top of the five tunnel rescue experts it sent earlier. Two Y-20 transport aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force landed at Tribhuvan International Airport at around 7am on Sunday, carrying 13,200 items, including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, hard tack and first-aid kits, according to the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu.

China’s ambassador to Nepal, Zhang Maoming, and Nepal’s minister for science, technology and innovation, Mahabir Pun, attended a handover ceremony for the supplies. The embassy said four more Chinese tunnel experts would be dispatched soon, adding to the five already working at a hydropower station.

With thousands still unaccounted for, Nepal’s immediate priorities remain locating survivors, recovering and identifying victims, and getting food and essential supplies to communities still cut off by the floods. The NDRRMA has separately warned communities and rescue teams downstream to stay alert, after a fresh rise in water levels was reported along the Bhote Koshi.