Nepal flood death toll rises to 1,355 as search continues for missing people

PTI, September 7, 2026, Kathmandu: The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal surged to 1,355 on Monday as more bodies were recovered from the affected areas, authorities said.

Rescue teams continued to search for 4,996 people, including at least 589 foreign nationals, who remain missing, while 13,396 people have been rescued so far, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.

Identification of bodies has emerged as a massive challenge.

Only 98 bodies were identified as of Monday, and handed over to the families, according to NDRRMA.

Most bodies recovered after being swept downstream were severely damaged, decomposed or recovered only in parts.

Police have said that bodies carried far from the disaster sites and those that remained in water and mud have made identification particularly difficult.

The Nepal Police have been collecting DNA samples from relatives of missing people to help identify unclaimed bodies and human remains recovered after the floods.

More than 1,000 unidentified bodies have been buried after DNA samples were collected to facilitate their identification in the future, officials said.

Hospitals struggled to cope with the growing number of unidentified bodies.

Large crowds continued to gather at medical facilities, carrying photographs of missing relatives and scrutinising images of the dead displayed on the walls.

Major rescue operations are underway at hydropower projects in flood-affected districts, where hundreds of men are believed to be trapped in tunnels.

Teams of experts from India and China are assisting their Nepali counterparts in these operations.

Australian tunnel expert Arnold Dix, who helped rescue 41 workers from India's Silkyara tunnel in 2023, is also assisting in the search for people believed to be trapped inside the Chilime hydropower project tunnel.