The death toll from devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 734, while nearly 2,500 people remain missing as rescue operations entered their fourth day, Nepali authorities said. Rescue teams are also searching for workers believed to be trapped inside hydropower tunnels.
The floods also affected areas along the border with China, with the combined toll in Nepal and Tibet earlier reported at 691 dead and more than 3,000 missing after China's latest update on Sunday.
Chinese authorities had reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing, while Nepal's disaster agency had said late Saturday that the death toll had reached 675, with 2,498 people missing.
Poor Weather Hampers Rescue Operations
Poor weather and difficult terrain have slowed aerial rescue operations.
In Nuwakot, one of the Nepali districts devastated by the floods, helicopters resumed operations before noon Saturday after poor weather temporarily disrupted their activities.
Some helicopters carried boxes and bags of aid, including clothes, instant noodles, crackers and rice, while others returned from flood-hit areas carrying survivors.
A Nepali Army official told CBS News that its search and rescue helicopters could make a combined 15 trips an hour into and out of the disaster zone, amounting to around 500 trips per day. Each flight is carrying a handful of people, with some being transported on stretchers.
More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal so far, according to authorities. Hundreds of those still missing are foreigners who were in the area for work, trekking or a pilgrimage to a sacred peak on the Tibet side of the border.
Nepal Warns Of Rising Flood Waters
Amid the search for survivors, Nepal issued a warning on Sunday morning about further rising flood waters.
"We have received information that the flood flow in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa has increased further," the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in an alert obtained by Agence France-Presse.
"Therefore, all personnel engaged in search, rescue, and relief operations, those in riverside areas, and everyone else in affected areas including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, and Chitwan are requested to exercise caution."
More Than 100 Workers Feared Trapped
Nepal's government said more than 100 workers may still be alive and trapped inside tunnels at hydropower projects, with rescue efforts focused on the Trishuli 3A and 3B sites.
Initial reports suggested that the 100 trapped workers were at a single location. However, Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said "rescue efforts are going on in multiple tunnel sites."
Rescuers managed to reach some people using helicopter baskets and ropes but faced difficulties due to 4 to 5 feet of mud and limited landing sites, Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said.
At Trishuli 3A, rescuers broke through the mud on Saturday and were able to begin sending air into the tunnel. Excavation efforts are underway, while the Ministry of Energy said efforts to send a camera into the tunnel had also begun, CBS News reported.
India, China Join Tunnel Rescue
Specialised Indian and Chinese tunnel-rescue teams have joined the efforts to free the trapped workers.
India has extensive experience with difficult Himalayan tunnel rescues, including teams of "rat-hole" miners skilled in crawling into narrow spaces.
Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said locating those still missing is "currently our national priority". He said Nepal's government had sought specialised support from neighbouring countries for tunnel rescue, survivor-detection technology, rapid forensic and DNA analysis, and morgue refrigerators, CBS News reported.
Khanal said an 11-member tunnel rescue reconnaissance team from India had been deployed, while a similar rescue team from China was expected shortly.
US Announces $3.6 Million Aid
The US State Department said in a social media post on Saturday that it was providing more than $3.6 million in humanitarian aid to Nepal.
The assistance will include three months of emergency food aid designed to help up to 10,000 households.
