NEPAL FLOODS: SEARCH OPERATIONS CONTINUE FOR THOUSANDS STILL MISSING AS BRIDGE REPAIRS GET UNDERWAY

September 20, 2026

KATHMANDU — Search and rescue operations continued across Nepal on Sunday for around 6,000 people who remain unaccounted for nearly four weeks after catastrophic flash floods devastated the region, killing more than 1,400 people.

The disaster, triggered by high-altitude glacial and ice collapses near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, sent raging torrents down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors. Debris swept away homes, vehicles, and critical infrastructure across northern and central districts, while also causing 43 deaths and over 500 missing on the Chinese side of the border.

In Rasuwa and neighboring areas, rescuers equipped with heavy machinery, gas cutters, and grinders continue to clear mud and reinforcement mesh to retrieve victims trapped inside damaged hydropower tunnels. At the Upper Trishuli-1 project alone, emergency personnel recently recovered 17 bodies from submerged infrastructure, though officials warn clearing the thick debris fields could take up to four months.

Concurrently, the Nepalese government has initiated repair work on 12 suspension bridges along the Trishuli corridor to restore connectivity to isolated communities in Nuwakot and Dhading by early October. Tenders have also been issued to rebuild 33 bridges destroyed beyond repair.

Identifying victims has emerged as a daunting forensic challenge. Out of more than 1,400 recovered bodies, only around 110 have been identified and returned to families, as severe decomposition and dismemberment have made visual recognition impossible. Authorities have temporarily buried nearly 1,300 victims after harvesting DNA samples, relying on extensive genetic matching against biological relatives to bring closure to grieving families.