Overview
- Authorities in Nepal and China report a provisional death toll above 1,000 and roughly 4,462 people unaccounted for after a large landslide and glacial collapse on the border.
- Search-and-rescue workers have concentrated on at least a dozen damaged hydroelectric sites where hundreds of construction workers are believed missing, and teams have used explosives, drills and excavators to probe blocked tunnels.
- Specialist crews from India, China and South Korea joined Nepalese forces in the effort, and rescues have produced isolated survivors including a six-year-old girl flown to Kathmandu for treatment.
- Morgues have been overwhelmed, prompting authorities to authorize sanitary burials without formal identification and leaving families to post photos at hospitals while officials work to account for foreign workers, pilgrims and tourists.
- Humanitarian needs are large and growing: the Red Cross estimates more than 90,000 people were affected, roads and bridges were damaged so access is limited, and officials and experts cite glacial instability and climate factors as part of the cause.