The death toll from Nepal's devastating flash floods rose to 1,127 on Wednesday, according to the Nepal Police, as rescuers continued their search for thousands still missing a week after the Himalayan disaster. The floods, triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages across northern and central Nepal.

Recovery and Identification

Police reported the recovery of 348 bodies from Chitwan, 217 from Nawalparasi East, 190 from Nawalparasi West, 155 from Nuwakot, 66 from Gorkha, 59 from Dhading, 45 from Rasuwa, and 38 from Tanahu. The Nepal Police also reported that nine bodies have been recovered in India.

Postmortem and legal identification procedures have been completed for 1,113 bodies, with 95 handed over to relatives so far. Details of 911 unidentified bodies have been uploaded to the Nepal Police website to help families identify missing relatives, the police said.

Nepal's Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, said in a Facebook post that the bodies of those who lost their lives and those who remain unidentified are being managed in accordance with the law and through scientific procedures. "The government is managing only those bodies that are found in an unidentifiable condition, while preserving DNA samples and other evidence that could assist in their identification," he said. He added that the bodies are being managed with the assistance of the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, and the Armed Police Force, Nepal, and that identified bodies are being handed over to their families.

Rescue and Relief Operations

Security forces have rescued 6,541 people from the affected areas, while search operations continued for 4,858 missing people, according to the police. Authorities have deployed 7,912 police personnel to flood-hit areas for search and rescue operations, relief distribution, and the management of recovered bodies.

Police teams are also moving families from high-risk areas to safer locations, clearing roads blocked by debris, and coordinating search, rescue, and relief operations with local authorities and residents.

International Assistance at Hydropower Sites

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that a specialised international tunnel rescue team from India and China has been mobilised alongside the Nepal Army at critical hydropower sites following the catastrophic Bhote Koshi River flash floods. Speaking at the ministry's fourth official press briefing in Kathmandu, spokesperson and head of the Public Diplomacy Division, Lok Bahadur Chhetri, highlighted that targeted international technical expertise is being deployed to handle high-risk subterranean operations.

"As we have stated, our immediate national priority remains clear: to save lives, locate those who are missing, rescue survivors, provide urgent relief, and ensure that all affected people, both Nepali and foreign nationals, receive appropriate assistance and support," Chhetri said.