Nepal flash floods: Death toll tops 1,100, 163 Indian nationals rescued - Top developments so far

A week after flash floods tore through towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, the scale of the disaster continued to grow, with the death toll rising to 1,127 on Wednesday and thousands still missing as rescuers pressed on with search operations, police said. The floods were triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, according to news agency PTI.

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Thousands still missing, rescue efforts under way

According to Nepal Police, security forces have rescued 6,541 people from the affected areas so far, while search operations continued for 4,858 missing people. Authorities have deployed 7,912 police personnel to flood-hit areas for search and rescue operations, relief distribution and the management of recovered bodies.

Bodies recovered from multiple districts

Police said 348 more bodies were recovered from Chitwan, 217 from Nawalparasi East, 190 from Nawalparasi West and 155 from Nuwakot. Similarly, 66 bodies were recovered from Gorkha, 59 from Dhading, 45 from Rasuwa and 38 from Tanahu.

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They said postmortem and legal identification procedures had been completed for 1,113 bodies, while 95 had been handed over to relatives. Details of 911 unidentified bodies have been uploaded to the Nepal Police website to help families identify missing relatives.

Police teams are also moving families from high-risk areas to safer locations, clearing roads blocked by debris and coordinating search, rescue and relief operations with local authorities and residents.

India shares update on relief efforts

In a related update on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said 163 Indian nationals had been rescued in the wake of the floods, as India continued relief and rescue efforts in coordination with Nepalese authorities. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X, "Update on Indian nationals and Indian rescue and relief efforts in Nepal (as of 1930 hrs on 01 Sept 2026) Number of Indian nationals rescued: 163 (with the addition of 5 new individuals since yesterday). Number of Indian nationals who have left China today: 151,"

Jaiswal also shared updates on a 19-member specialised forensics team from India that began functioning in Kathmandu on Sunday, as well as a tunnel rescue team deployed in Nepal. In a statement, he said the forensic team expanded its activities on Tuesday in coordination with its counterparts from Nepal to undertake tasks such as examination of DNA and analysis. "This will help expediting the processing of DNA samples in Nepal," he said.

The statement also said, "Tunnel rescue team: After establishing a foothold at hydropower tunnels in Chilime, the Indian tunnel rescue team had to overcome several challenges such as extremely restricted access space, limitations on use of specialised equipment due to terrain, and a marshy tunnel floor. Using innovative methods and improvised floats, the team was able to move deeper in the tunnel. Its efforts will continue tomorrow to try and rescue any individuals that may be trapped inside."

Toll climbs further from Tuesday's figures

On Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority had said the death toll had risen to 1,003, around 4,000 people remained missing, and nearly 12,000 had been rescued. By Wednesday, police said the toll had climbed further to 1,127, with recovery, identification, rescue and relief operations still under way across the flood-hit districts.