Missing toll in Nepal floods surges to 826 overnight as death count reaches 165

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Nepal climbed to 165 on Thursday (local time), the second day after the disaster struck, while the number of missing — initially counted at around 400 on the first day — surged to 826 within 24 hours.

Nepalese police said 826 people were missing following massive floods that struck Bagmati Province in the country's north, according to Reuters and other news agencies. The missing count had stood at 484 on Wednesday before a wave of new reports nearly doubled the figure overnight.

Of those missing, about 600 are foreign nationals, while more than 200 Nepalese are also unaccounted for. The missing foreigners are from 28 countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Italy and Ukraine. The high number of foreign missing reflects the area's popularity: it lies near a major Hindu pilgrimage site and is a well-known trekking destination.

Among those unaccounted for are nine South Korean workers affiliated with Korea South-East Power (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility, who had been building a hydroelectric power plant in the region and lost contact. A South Korean government joint rapid-response team — comprising officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korean National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency — departed for Kathmandu on Thursday.

The death toll had reached 160 on Wednesday before rising further as search operations continued. Police said 165 bodies had been recovered as of Thursday. Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 80 bridges and 40 kilometers of road had been damaged. Eighty-three security personnel, including local police and soldiers, were also reported missing.

A landslide linked to the same flooding event struck Gyirong County in Shigatse, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, which borders Nepal. Chinese state media reported that the landslide killed three people and left 558 missing, including 260 foreign nationals. Combined with the toll in Nepal, the total number of missing across both sides of the border exceeds 1,300.

Early speculation that an earthquake had triggered a glacial collapse causing the floods was later ruled out. Investigators now believe the disaster may have been caused by the collapse of massive glaciers and rock formations in the Himalayas driven by climate change from global warming.