Glacial Flood Death Toll Surpasses 900 in Nepal and Tibet

A powerful glacial flood roared down from the mountains along the China-Nepal border last Wednesday, killing at least 939 people in Nepal and Tibet. The disaster left nearly 4,500 people missing and destroyed entire villages and towns. Rescue teams have been working for six days through thick mud and debris to find survivors. Scientists say melting glaciers caused by climate change made this disaster possible.

One survivor, Shibu Giri, is a 44-year-old hydropower worker from Rasuwa, Nepal. He was stuck in mud up to his waist after the flood hit. A helicopter crew tried to rescue him three times before finally getting him out. He was taken to a hospital and is recovering. 'I asked them to throw water and food,' he told reporters.

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah called the disaster 'unimaginable and heartbreaking.' In the Chitwan district, army soldiers carried victims in blue body bags up a riverbank. They placed the bodies in a row along a dirt road. More than 20,600 rescue workers have been sent to the disaster zone. So far, rescuers have saved more than 3,100 people.

Rescue teams are in a race against time to reach about 100 hydropower workers who may be trapped in tunnels. Workers have been digging, drilling, and blasting through mud and debris to find them. So far, three bodies have been pulled from two tunnels. An Indian army officer helping with the rescue said his team was still digging through thick mud but remained hopeful. He said he believed survivors could still be inside.

There was at least one moment of joy in the middle of so much sadness. A six-year-old girl was pulled from the mud on Friday and reunited with her parents. Police found her crying for her mother. 'Her body was trapped in mud, but her head was outside,' said an armed police spokesman. She is now recovering safely at a hospital.

Nepal's mortuaries, or places where bodies are stored, are overflowing. Officials have begun burying some of the dead in mass graves after taking DNA samples. DNA sampling allows families to identify their loved ones later. Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, has asked for international help, saying it needs more than a thousand freezer units just to store bodies. Grieving families are looking at images of victims on screens at community centers, trying to find their missing loved ones.

Among the missing are 592 foreigners, including tourists who came to trek in the mountains. Hindu pilgrims who were visiting Tibet's sacred Mount Kailash are also among those unaccounted for. Roads, bridges, and power plants have been destroyed across the region. A local police officer in Nuwakot district said, 'There are too many challenges.' The United Nations children's fund warned that tens of thousands of people still need urgent help.

Scientists say a glacier collapsed and caused the huge flood, according to the US Geological Survey. Climate change is making glaciers around the world melt faster. Nepal's foreign minister said his country is 'one of the major victims of the changing climate.' The Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range, are melting at an increasing rate as global temperatures rise. Disasters like this one may become more common if the planet continues to warm.

In Tibet, which is part of China, rescue operations are also underway. More than 2,000 workers are involved, but they face serious challenges reaching the hardest-hit areas. China has officially reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in Tibet. However, advocacy groups for Tibetan people living in exile have questioned whether these numbers are accurate. China's government said its release of information has been 'open, transparent, and timely.'