Nepal flood death toll reaches 626

The death toll from this week's Himalayan flash floods has risen to 626 across Nepal and Tibet. Nearly 2,500 people remain unaccounted for, according to authorities on Saturday.

Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, told Reuters the government needs foreign expertise in specialized areas. These include rescuing people from flooded tunnels, DNA testing, and storing bodies as hospitals are overwhelmed.

"We have already made requests for such specialised services and technical assistance in areas where we don't have enough expertise and technical knowhow," he said.

International Response and Rejection

Britain, India, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have all asked to send search-and-rescue teams, the Kathmandu Post reported. Minister Khanal stated Nepali rescuers were already handling that work and saw no need for duplication.

A British rapid response team was due to arrive in Kathmandu on Saturday. Its task is to assist relatives of the more than 30 British nationals missing. This forms part of a wider UK response including £5 million of humanitarian support.

Nepal has also asked India and China to supply portable bailey bridges to restore transport links. Roughly two dozen bridges were destroyed.

Rescue Operations and Challenges

Rescue operations entered a fourth day on Saturday, hampered by poor weather that grounded helicopters. Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet, an army spokesperson, told the AP that teams remain focused on the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project in Rasuwa district. More than 100 people are believed trapped in a tunnel filled with thick mud.

Rescuers have used ropes and baskets. The operation has been slowed by up to five feet of mud and a shortage of helicopter landing sites. Teams temporarily relocated after further flood warnings.

The renewed flood risk comes from a lake that formed high in the mountains after Wednesday's initial collapse. Monitoring data from China's ministry of water resources showed the lake's water level had dropped by 10 metres from its peak by late Friday, Chinese broadcaster CCTV reported. This suggests the immediate risk may be easing.

Minister Khanal said many bodies had been recovered as far as Chitwan and Nawalparasi, plains around 100 kilometres from the disaster zone. Hospitals there have run out of refrigeration space. He said the flood caused extensive damage to schools, hospitals, hydropower plants, roads and bridges, and that Nepal would need further foreign support during reconstruction.

Search teams also reached Gyirong Port, the severely damaged border crossing on the Chinese side. Some rescuers reached the area on foot, by raft, or via equipment lowered from drones.