On the fifth day since catastrophic floods swept through the Himalayan mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, authorities in both countries are making all-out efforts to search for and rescue more than 3,000 missing people.

Attention is focused on whether miraculous survivals can be reported, especially as rescue teams have drilled access points into a hydropower plant tunnel where over 100 people are believed to be trapped and are injecting air through pipes.

However, rescue operations are facing difficulties due to rising river water levels from heavy rainfall raising concerns of further overflow, as well as a shortage of specialized equipment and capabilities.

According to the Nepal Disaster Management Authority, the massive floods that battered areas across central Bagmati Province in Nepal have left at least 752 dead and a total of 2,502 missing, including 592 foreign nationals, within the country.

Combined with the casualties reported by Chinese authorities in the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region—16 dead and 546 missing—the total death toll from the floods has reached at least 768, with 3,048 people still missing.

Nepalese authorities estimate that at least 933 workers are missing across more than 11 hydropower plant sites, and that around 100 of them may be surviving trapped inside tunnels.

At the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, where a large number of workers are estimated to have gathered, the Nepalese military rescue team successfully drilled an access point into the upper section of the tunnel buried under mud and debris late last night, according to Nepalese Home Minister Sudan Gurung.

Joint rescue teams consisting of the Nepalese military and police have started installing pipes to inject air and deploying cameras into the tunnel.

Torrential rain that began pouring from around 2:00 AM today caused the water level of the Trishuli River to rise, flooding excavation areas and briefly halting the operation.

However, as conditions improved afterward, operations resumed using equipment such as drills, excavators, and hydraulic cutters, the Nepalese military authorities reported.

The Ministry of Energy of Nepal stated, "The work of drilling four holes has been completed," adding, "We are currently making preparations to directly enter the tunnel to conduct search and rescue operations."

Nepalese authorities also rescued 183 people, including four Chinese nationals, transporting them via helicopters and other means, while deploying about 15,000 personnel, including military and police, to heavily affected valley areas for search and rescue operations.

Earlier today, the Nepal Disaster Management Authority stated, "We have received information that the water volume of the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa district has further swelled," requesting special caution from search, rescue, and relief personnel as well as residents in riverside areas.

Furthermore, Bloomberg reported, citing experts, that some of the unstable "natural dam lakes" formed when rivers were blocked by mud and rocks from the massive floods are rapidly filling with water and risk collapsing in an uncontrollable manner.

In China as well, drone surveillance late last night confirmed that a landslide occurred about 2.8 kilometers away from an existing natural dam lake, creating a new natural dam.

Consequently, emergency rescue personnel near the Jilong Port in the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region evacuated to safe locations, and Chinese authorities have stepped up monitoring in preparation for secondary disasters.

Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, Nepal's Minister of Energy, said, "Rescue operations are underway in multiple tunnels," adding that work is continuing amid "adverse weather and extremely difficult conditions."

India, which has rich experience in high-difficulty tunnel rescue operations in the Himalayan region, provided 11 tunnel rescue specialists to Nepal, and China also dispatched a 9-member tunnel rescue team to Nepal.

The Nepalese government has additionally requested international support, including special and professional equipment and personnel necessary for search and rescue operations, such as large transport drones, DNA testing kits, and refrigerated facilities for storing bodies.

Sisir Khanal, Nepal's Foreign Secretary, stated that they are looking for heavy-lift drones to supply emergency relief goods to various affected areas accessible only by helicopters.

He also explained that professional support, including forensic equipment and personnel such as refrigerated storage facilities and DNA testing kits, is urgently needed to prevent the decomposition of victims' bodies—hundreds of which are recovered in a single day—and to verify the identities of the bereaved families.

Eventually, as hospital morgues nationwide reached full capacity and bodies that could not fit into refrigerated facilities began to decompose, Nepalese authorities started burying some of the hundreds of unidentified bodies.

Amrit Bahadur Rai, Nepal's Foreign Secretary, stated, "We had to bury the decomposing bodies to protect public health," adding, "We have requested refrigerated storage facilities from several countries, and more than 1,000 units will be needed."

Nevertheless, authorities are taking steps such as collecting DNA samples, taking photographs, and recording identification information of the bodies so that families can identify them, and plan to hand over the bodies to the bereaved families once their identities are confirmed so they can be cremated according to Hindu traditions.

The Nepalese government estimates that approximately 4 billion to 5 billion dollars—roughly 5.5 trillion to 6.9 trillion Korean won—will be needed for flood recovery.

The upper estimate of 5 billion dollars is a massive amount close to 10% of Nepal's entire economy.

Minister Khanal said, "We plan to establish a recovery plan after investigating the scale of the damage, but for now, we are requesting support from the international community."

The United States and Canada have pledged about 3.6 million dollars each, the European Union 2.5 million dollars, the United Kingdom 5 million pounds, and Malaysia 1 million dollars in aid.

The United Nations has disbursed 2.5 million dollars in emergency aid funds, while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has allocated over 1 million dollars to support Nepal and launched a 31 million dollar emergency appeal.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government's joint rapid response team and Doosan Enerbility had originally planned to deploy two chartered helicopters today—one each—to launch a search operation for nine missing South Korean nationals.

However, it was reported that the helicopters could not be dispatched yet as flight approval from the Nepalese military authorities has not been issued due to adverse weather and other factors.