The death toll from glacial floods in the Himalayas exceeded 1,000 on Tuesday, as Chinese and Nepalese rescue teams continued to search for survivors, including dozens of hydropower workers, believed to be trapped inside tunnels.
About 4,500 people are still missing after a massive wave of extremely cold water, rocks and debris swept through a large number of villages and towns, causing them to be completely wiped out, as reported by Agence France-Presse. Nepalese rescue teams are racing against time in harsh geographical and climatic conditions, seeking to save about a hundred workers in the hydropower sector who are believed to be trapped inside tunnels, while digging, bulldozing and blasting operations continue non-stop, with the support of teams from China, India and South Korea. So far, only the bodies of a number of victims have been recovered from the mud-filled tunnels.
Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told Agence France-Presse that “search and rescue efforts are currently focusing on the tunnels, and work is continuing.” He continued: “Our soldiers are deployed to collect bodies and prevent the spread of diseases.”
With the morgues crowded, Nepal began burying hundreds of bodies after taking DNA samples from them, so that their families could receive them later, while at least 17 bodies were recovered from rivers in India.
A ray of hope
In the capital, Kathmandu, a large number of citizens gathered in front of a hospital, where they pasted pictures of their missing relatives on a long wall, clinging to what remained of hope of finding them alive.
Dibu Sapkota (58 years old) came to hang pictures of his mother-in-law (83 years old) and his granddaughter, who went missing in the town of Trishuli Bazar, after they were swept away by floods last week. Sapkota recounts that the woman, despite the sound of the alarms, “was unable to run because of her age,” adding that “the floods swept her away along with her granddaughter, who was trying to help her escape.” Sapkota confirms that he no longer has any hope “of finding them alive,” especially since eyewitnesses confirmed that they saw the sweeping current carrying them. However, he continued, holding pictures of them in traditional dress: “I am only here in the hope of finding their bodies.”
In the Chitwan area, grieving families mourned a number of victims and burned their bodies. Soldiers were seen unloading the bodies of victims from helicopters in Nuwakot and Raswa districts in Nepal on Monday.
Relief needs are still huge, after torrents swept away entire villages, leaving families displaced amid heavy rains or in temporary shelters. The floods also washed away roads and destroyed power plants and dozens of bridges. Police officer E. said. Hawadi, in the most affected area of Nuwakot, said, “The challenges are very great and beyond our capabilities.”
Anger in Nepal
In Nuwakot, citizens dived into the mud, heading towards the rubble of their homes to search for the remaining belongings, according to Agence France-Presse, while others set up plastic tents amid the rubble as a temporary shelter.
On the list of missing persons in Nepal are 592 foreigners from more than 30 countries, distributed between 583 in Nepal and 261 in China, including hikers, mountain climbers and Hindu pilgrims who came to Mount Kailash in Tibet. The extent of the damage caused a deep feeling of anger in Nepal, a country that relies mainly on agriculture and is home to about 30 million people. Its contribution to emissions causing global warming is very small, and yet it pays the greatest price as a result of this phenomenon, to which the rich and industrialized countries contribute mainly.
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a statement on Monday evening: “It is time to forcefully raise before the international community the issue of the disasters we are experiencing as a result of climate change.”
Scientists confirm that the snow of the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world, is melting at a faster rate as global temperatures rise.
The economy in Nepal is facing severe pressure due to the lack of sufficient resources to respond to a disaster of this magnitude, as authorities in Kathmandu have warned that reconstruction costs may reach “billions of dollars.”
Commemoration of the victims
Nepal announced the recovery of 987 bodies, while 3,916 people are still missing, while China, for its part, reported the death of 16 people and the loss of 546 others, bringing the total provisional toll of the disaster to 1,003 dead and 4,462 missing.
A memorial service for the victims was held in Tibet on Tuesday, in which emergency workers, officials and a number of residents participated. The Chinese Xinhua News Agency reported that “rescue personnel, local officials and residents observed a minute of silence to mourn the victims.”
More than 2,000 individuals are participating in rescue operations there, but they face enormous challenges and are moving slowly towards the epicenter.
Pro-Tibetan groups in exile have questioned the death toll announced by China.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that “the information is available to everyone, transparent, and updated in a timely manner,” rejecting international reports that it reduces the number of announced deaths.
The results of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit meetings, which were held in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, reflected the priorities of the participating parties. In a final declaration, the summit focused on the challenges facing the organization’s countries, and stressed the rejection of external dictates and unilateral hegemony, but it neglected to mention the conflict over Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on common issues, especially economic cooperation and solidarity in the face of Western pressures, and launched a scathing attack on the United Nations, reminding the world of the era of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who was known as “Mr.
With his repeated references to international policy and his keenness to repeat his country's positions, Putin's speech reflected a clear focus on cooperation files within the organization, which has important trade and economic agreements with Russia that helped Moscow overcome many of the difficulties caused by Western pressures and restrictions.
Putin pointed out that the percentage of commercial settlements and transactions between Russia and its partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in national currencies exceeded 98 percent, and recorded more than 400 billion dollars.
The Russian President said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has come a long way over the past 25 years, and has transformed into an influential center in a multipolar world, and he saw that it has become the largest regional grouping in the world, where half of the world's population lives. He praised the active cooperation between the countries of the organization in various fields, in the interest of the member states of the organization.
He stressed that enhancing trade exchange between the countries of the organization is one of the main tasks currently at hand. He called on the countries of the organization to continue coordination and joint work in the field of energy.
He also stressed the importance of the organization “doing its utmost to exclude any provocation of armed conflicts from global practice.”
"Mr. No"
Speaking about the performance of the United Nations, Putin pointed out that Moscow is not completely satisfied with some aspects of the work of this international organization, and that this dissatisfaction “was not born today, but has accompanied the work of the United Nations for decades.”
He said: “It is not a coincidence, and here my colleagues in the CIS countries know this perhaps better than others, that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union Andrei Gromyko was often nicknamed (Mr. No), because he was known for his adherence to the right of veto on crucial issues.”
Putin explained that Gromyko was not only using his veto to defend Moscow's interests, but was also protecting the interests of a large number of African, Latin American, and Southeast Asian countries that were waging liberation battles against colonialism, which made Gromyko a strong international voice in major forums.
Gromyko was Moscow's first permanent representative to the United Nations since 1946, and in 1957 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held until 1985, becoming over these years a symbol of Russian foreign policy and the owner of a strict school of diplomacy towards the West.
Beijing and the roots of the Ukrainian crisis
In the intervention of Chinese President Xi Jinping, he announced that his country is ready to enhance cooperation and coordination with all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to resolve the intractable crises on the international agenda, including the Ukrainian crisis.
He expressed a desire to coordinate positions with the countries of the organization regarding Ukraine and others, and to address their root causes in order to resolve them politically. He said during the meeting, according to what was reported by China Central Television: “Speaking of international and regional hotspots of tension, such as Ukraine, the Middle East and Afghanistan, China is ready to enhance cooperation and coordination with all parties.” He stressed that his country is ready to “commit to the principle of simultaneous treatment of the symptoms of problems and their root causes, and to contribute to their political settlement.”
Lahore is the capital of culture
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit concluded its work on Tuesday with the issuance of the “Bishkek Declaration,” which carried a package of political positions and economic projects, and affirmed the rejection of unilateral interference in international affairs.
The leaders of the organization’s countries signed 28 documents that include, in addition to the Bishkek Declaration, the regulations of the Executive Committee of the organization’s Narcotics Control Center; Declaring Lahore as the Tourism and Cultural Capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the period 2026-2027; The Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Strengthening the Multilateral Partnership for Nuclear Safety and Security, in addition to a number of other documents.
This summit was called “Shanghai Plus” because countries that were not members of it were invited to attend. Representatives of 17 countries and six international organizations participated in it, including, along with the Russian and Chinese presidents, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Reject unilateral hegemony
The final declaration issued by the meeting stressed the rejection of unilateral hegemony, adherence to the principles of sovereignty, and included a call for international financial reform. In the declaration, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization stressed the importance of dialogue with the United Nations and its bodies to achieve peace.
Solidarity emerged between member states on issues related to each state’s sovereignty and internal security, and one of the clauses stipulated that “providing Internet services via unlicensed satellites in the territories of member states is a violation of their sovereignty.”
The Shanghai Organization countries expressed their readiness to develop mutually beneficial partnerships in the field of industry. The announcement also talked about developing cross-border e-commerce infrastructure. She emphasized “the pioneering role of sovereign states and their competent authorities in combating terrorism and extremism.”
Regarding international files, the declaration saw that “the international situation remains difficult due to various conflicts and challenges.” The countries of the organization noted that strengthening global protection systems by individual countries or blocs negatively affects international security. She stressed that states should not guarantee their security at the expense of the security of others.
She called for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of energy. It also affirmed its commitment to consolidating the results of World War II and continuing to confront the falsification of history. This paragraph carried an indirect reference to Russia's interests in its dispute with Japan over the Kuril Islands and China's interests towards Taiwan and the situation in East Asia and the Pacific. The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization stressed the need to conclude an international document guaranteeing the prevention of an arms race in space. The joint declaration called for supporting reform of the international financial structure, including strengthening the role of developing countries in the International Monetary Fund. It also called on the countries of the organization to comply with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development and Use of Chemical Weapons.
Absence of conflict over Ukraine
The statement included a paragraph about readiness to support efforts aimed at ensuring peace, stability and development in Afghanistan. An indication that a just settlement of the Palestinian issue is the only way to guarantee peace in the Middle East. However, it was noticeable that there was no reference to the conflict over Ukraine in the organization’s final declaration.
On the ground, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a massive strike on the energy and logistics sector in the Kiev and Odessa provinces in Ukraine, affecting march assembly sites, fuel stores, power stations, and ports. According to the military statement, the concentrated strikes targeted the “Aero Pavona” site in Kiev for manufacturing balloons used to drop medium- and long-range drones, including the “Khornet” model, a center for assembling, preparing and storing drone boats in the town of Khotov in the Kiev province, a thermal power station and three electricity substations in Odessa and its environs, which provided the operation of the port infrastructure. As well as sites for collecting drones.
It was noted in the statement that the ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk on the Black Sea were used to receive and store military shipments and fuel for the Ukrainian forces.
In a separate statement, the ministry announced that 516 Ukrainian marches were shot down last night in the southwestern provinces of the country.
For those stranded by floods, survival depends on many factors, including access to oxygen, food and water.
Catastrophic floods along the Nepal-China border resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand citizens, and the loss of more than 4,000 others.
More than a thousand dead
The infinite death toll from the Himalayan floods has risen to 1,003, including 987 in Nepal, according to what its Disaster Management Authority announced on Tuesday, and 16 in China, according to its authorities.
The total number of missing persons reached 4,462, including 3,916 inside Nepalese territory, according to the Kathmandu authorities, and 546 in the Tibet region under Chinese sovereignty, according to official Beijing media.
Among the missing are hundreds of tourists, pilgrims and foreign workers, numbering 583 in Nepal from more than 30 countries, and 261 in China from 23 countries, according to the same sources, and according to Agence France-Presse.
In Nepal alone, 639 workers at hydroelectric plants or at dam construction sites are also still missing. In India, the authorities of the state of Uttar Pradesh announced that they also found 17 bodies dozens of kilometers away in the river below the disaster site.
The first 72 hours are crucial
Rescuers in Nepal are rushing to rescue hundreds of workers believed to be trapped in hydroelectric power plant tunnels buried under mud.
Experts say that the first 72 hours are crucial, as the chances of survival diminish with the lack of clean water, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.
One important aspect is whether the tunnels are equipped with emergency protocols in the event of a power outage or natural disaster, explained Jennifer Horney, a disaster epidemiologist at the University of Delaware.
If so, workers will likely have received training on exit locations. But the force of the flood may lead to the accumulation of mud above these exits, making rescue plans difficult, according to Horney.
Struggle with time
For hundreds of people trapped, access to clean drinking water is crucial, and it remains unclear whether there are any emergency supplies stored in the tunnels. “There is no way they can survive for more than three days without safe drinking water,” Horney said.
Access to fresh air is another essential factor for survival. At least one expert noted that some workers could get oxygen, but six days after the flooding, fears of suffocation are growing.
“These tunnels are wide enough for trucks to pass through,” said Jacob Steiner, a geologist at the University of Graz in Austria, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. From what we understand, they were able to deliver oxygen to some of those trapped inside, and are now trying to rescue them. But time is running out, people need food and water.”
The psychological effects of isolation are important
In addition, the psychological effects of such isolation can be severe. Other important considerations, according to Thomas Chandler, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, are “whether there are signs of serious injury” and whether there is a safe way to deliver water and basic supplies during rescue operations.
He pointed to the collapse of a tunnel in the Himalayas in 2023 as a result of a landslide, where 41 Indian workers were rescued after they were trapped for 17 days. They were provided with food, water and oxygen through tubes.
The climate inside the tunnels may also play a role. If the weather is hot and humid, people may become dehydrated more quickly. Survivors may be so vulnerable, so supportive care is necessary to mitigate the physical and psychological effects, according to disaster experts.
