Death Toll and Missing Exceed 1,800 Amid Severe Floods; Rescue Access Proves Difficult

[Anchor]

The death toll from the worst floods and landslides to hit the border region between Nepal and China is sharply rising. The number of deaths has surpassed 390, while about 1,400 people remain missing. Among the missing are nine South Korean employees at a hydroelectric power plant construction site, with whom contact remains lost.

Reporter Kim Minpyo has the details.

[Reporter]

Villages nestled in the Himalayan gorges have been reduced to fields of mud.

A rescue helicopter flies low amidst collapsed mountain slopes.

In Nepal's Bagmati Province, more than 100 missing Indian tourists and 25 Chinese workers were found dead.

In Nepal alone, the casualty figures have surged significantly, with 389 deaths and 910 people missing.

Combined with figures from the Chinese side, the total death toll stands at 392, with approximately 1,400 people missing.

[Subina Tamang / Wife of a missing person: All I hope for is that my husband returns safely and in one piece. I don't want anything else.]

Nine South Korean employees working for Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power Co. at the hydroelectric plant construction site also remain out of contact for the third consecutive day.

Because the affected area is close to a Hindu holy site and serves as a popular trekking route, more than 60 percent of the missing are foreign nationals from countries such as India, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

With most of the disaster zones still buried under thick mud and rescue workers struggling to reach the area, figuring out the exact scale of casualties remains difficult.

Nepalese authorities have mobilized more than 30,000 personnel to conduct overnight rescue operations, but noted that reaching the site is hampered by more than 35 destroyed bridges and approximately 40 km of damaged roads.

As the affected region has been virtually reduced to ruins by what is Nepal's worst flood on record, concerns are also being raised over the possibility of secondary floods.

The international community has stepped up to provide emergency aid, with U.S. President Trump stating that all necessary assistance will be provided.

(Video Editing: Chae Chul-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.