Nepal recovers over 1,000 bodies after glacial flood: 4,462 missing as families hold symbolic funerals

More than 1,000 bodies have been recovered and 4,462 people remain missing after flash floods devastated villages in Nepal’s Himalayan region, Nepalese authorities said on Wednesday. Families have begun conducting symbolic funeral ceremonies for loved ones presumed lost, as the search for survivors continues.

According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the disaster was triggered by a high-altitude glacial collapse on August 26, which sent a massive wave of freezing water, rocks, and debris down the China-Nepal border. Emergency teams have recovered 1,050 bodies in Nepal, while 3,916 people are still missing, the authority reported. Chinese state media reported 16 dead and 546 missing in Tibet, bringing the overall number of reported dead to 1,066 and missing to 4,462. At least 17 bodies have also been recovered from rivers downstream in India, according to Indian authorities.

After days of searching shelters and mortuaries, relatives of some of the missing have lost hope and begun conducting last rites. Dolma Newar Tamang, whose husband was en route to China when the disaster struck, said, “We had to do this to set his soul free, so that he is at peace and happy wherever he is.” She added, “I saw the news and called him. I called repeatedly, but he never picked up.”

Rescue teams remain hopeful about finding survivors, particularly in tunnels of hydropower plants across the region. So far, only bodies have been recovered from tunnels blocked by sludge, but teams are continuing to dig, drill, and blast through debris. Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Shisir Khanal, stated, “Miracles do happen. At this point, I do not want to completely give up hope.”