Death toll from Tibet disaster rises to 43 after Himalayan glacier collapse

The death toll from massive floods and debris flows that struck Tibet's Gyirong County along the Himalayan border between Nepal and China has risen to 43.

Gyirong County authorities announced Sunday that as of 6 p.m. local time, 43 people had been confirmed dead and 519 remained missing, according to Yonhap and China's Xinhua news agency.

Chinese authorities had earlier said the missing included foreign nationals from 23 countries, among them Nepal, India, Latvia, the United States and the United Kingdom, though no further details have been made public. No South Koreans are believed to be among the missing in Tibet.

The disaster was triggered on Aug. 26 when a glacier on Nepal's Langtang Lirung collapsed, setting off landslides and debris flows that swept through Gyirong County, situated at an elevation of 1,800 meters above sea level.

Chinese authorities restored a road leading to the Gyirong port of entry in Gyirong County on Wednesday, after which heavy equipment was deployed to clear space for search and rescue operations. Specialist rescue teams are conducting intensive searches at key sites using life detectors, and drainage work on an upstream natural dam lake — which had raised fears of further damage — has been completed.

In addition, China's National Health Commission and other agencies have dispatched more than 210 professional counselors to the site, including staff with foreign-language capabilities, to provide psychological support to disaster victims and rescue workers.