Death toll from Nepal flash floods and mudslides in August surges past 1,400

ISTANBUL – The death toll from last month's devastating flash floods and mudslides at the Nepal-China border passed 1,400 in Nepal on Wednesday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 1,403 people have died, with 13,742 rescued.

A total of 6,150 remain missing, 587 of them foreigners.

On the Chinese side, the death toll remains at 43, with 519 missing, including 261 foreigners in Tibet, which Beijing designates as the Xizang autonomous region.

The disaster struck Aug. 26 when a glacier on Nepal's Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of 5,200 meters (17,060 feet).

The fracture triggered an ice-rock avalanche that turned into a massive debris flow and swept through valleys along the border.

Floodwaters and mudslides devastated Nepal's Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre districts, as well as the Kathmandu Valley.

The disaster also buried the Gyirong border crossing in Xizang.

Anadolu via Philippine News Agency