Death toll rises as rescuers search for victims of Nepal flood

More than 1,500 people are missing and at least 470 are confirmed dead following the devastating flood.

More than 1,500 people are missing and almost 470 people confirmed dead in Nepal and China following Wednesday’s flood, as rescue efforts continued.

Children rescued from a flash flood at an army camp in Nepal's Nuwakot district.

In Nepal, more than 970 people are missing, including 517 foreigners, said Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority on Friday. The bodies of 469 people had been recovered, according to Nepal Police. Among the missing foreign tourists are around 65 Americans and 180 Indians, according to the Nepal Tourism Board.

Chinese authorities have confirmed three deaths and 550 missing, almost half of whom were foreign tourists, according to Chinese state news reports published Thursday. China didn’t provide updated figures on Friday.

Deep Dive

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The disaster struck as many Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims were transiting through the area to reach mountain lakes in Nepal and Tibet that they consider sacred. Markets, hotels and restaurants line the highway that sits near the Trishuli River, which was hit by the floodwater. The Gyirong Port is also a major border crossing between Nepal and China as well as an important trade route.

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, a dammed lake upstream of the Gyirong Port in Tibet has begun overflowing, forcing a temporary suspension of rescue operations. Nepali authorities also warned about additional flooding and warned residents and rescuers to take precautions.

Experts believe that a vast quantity of rock and ice fell from around 16,000 feet, possibly due to the partial collapse of a glacier, and plunged 4,000 feet into the valley below. The fall turned the ice into a devastating wave of water that barreled into nearby rivers and washed through towns and villages in China and Nepal, carrying people as far as 150 miles to districts near Nepal’s southern border with India.

Thousands of army, police and paramilitary forces have been mobilized for search and rescue operations in Nepal.

Many of the injured and rescued are being brought by helicopter to Kathmandu to undergo treatment. Recovered bodies are being brought to the capital for identification by relatives.

On Thursday afternoon in Kathmandu, the walls of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, one of Nepal’s oldest and largest state-run hospitals, were covered with photos of missing persons and the remains of people killed in floods. Desperate family members rushed from that hospital to another nearby searching for news.

Dawa Wangmo Ghale, a woman from Rasuwa, the first district in northern Nepal to be hit by the flood, was there searching for her brother, who had traveled to the Nepal-China border the day before the disaster. “We couldn’t find him anywhere,” she said, holding a photo of him. “So far, we haven’t heard whether he’s dead or alive.”

Another woman from Rasuwa, Pasang Chhomu Ghale, was rescued by helicopter on Wednesday. “I luckily survived the flood,” she said. “But I don’t have any idea who’s dead or alive there.”

The hospital was struggling to identify the dead. Rescuers took photos of some of the bodies that had been carried more than 100 miles from the upstream areas most affected by the flood and posted them at the hospital.

“They showed me four dead bodies and a hand,” said Jit Bahadur Tamang, who had arrived to claim the remains of one relative. “Bodies are stinking.”

He said that his relative, Krishna Tamang, was swept away while praying at a monastery along the bank of the Trishuli River on Wednesday when the flood hit.

Write to Krishna Pokharel at krishna.pokharel@wsj.com