The death toll from catastrophic flash floods and landslides that struck Nepal and China's Tibet region last week has surpassed 1,000, while more than 4,400 people remain missing, authorities said Tuesday as rescue teams continued a desperate search for survivors across the devastated Himalayan region.

disaster authorities reported 987 deaths in the country, while Chinese authorities confirmed 16 deaths in Tibet, bringing the combined toll to 1,003. A total of 4,462 people remain unaccounted for on both sides of the border.

The disaster began on August 26 after a major glacial collapse in the Himalayas sent huge quantities of rock, ice and meltwater into downstream valleys. The resulting torrents rapidly swelled rivers, sweeping away homes, roads, bridges and infrastructure. Satellite analysis indicated that the collapse may have involved a failure of bedrock beneath a glacier, generating a seismic event estimated at magnitude 5.2.

Rescue teams confront devastation

Rescue operations remain extremely difficult because large sections of roads and bridges have been destroyed, leaving some communities accessible only by helicopter. More than 11,800 people have been rescued, but the search continues for thousands of others buried beneath mud and debris or cut off in isolated settlements.

One of the most urgent rescue operations is focused on hydropower facilities in Nepal's Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. More than 900 workers are reported missing from 12 hydropower projects, with around 500 believed to be trapped inside tunnels blocked by mud and debris. Rescue crews are racing against time as difficult terrain, damaged infrastructure and potentially limited oxygen complicate efforts to reach those underground.

The disaster has also inflicted extensive damage on Nepal's energy infrastructure. Authorities and rescue officials have been working to reopen roads and establish temporary crossings while helicopters transport emergency supplies and evacuate survivors from isolated areas.

A five-year-old survivor brings a moment of hope

Amid the overwhelming destruction, the rescue of five-year-old Manisha Magar has offered one of the disaster's rare moments of hope.

Manisha was initially presumed dead after being swept away by the floodwaters. Her parents, devastated by her disappearance, later saw video footage showing that rescuers had found her alive. The child's survival has become a powerful reminder of the possibility of finding more people alive as search teams continue examining collapsed homes, riverbanks and debris fields.

At the same time, families across Nepal face the painful task of identifying relatives whose bodies have been recovered. Some victims were carried considerable distances downstream, while prolonged exposure to water and debris has made identification increasingly difficult.

Foreign families arrive in search of loved ones

The disaster has also triggered an international search effort. Hundreds of foreign nationals are among those missing in Nepal and Tibet. Nepalese authorities said 583 foreigners from more than 30 nationalities remain missing, while China has reported 261 foreign nationals among its missing.

The missing include large numbers of Indian nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia and Britain. The U.S. State Department has said around 85 Americans remain unaccounted for, prompting families to travel to Nepal in the hope of locating their relatives.

For families arriving from abroad, the search has become a race against time, with communications disrupted in some areas and access to the hardest-hit communities severely restricted.

As rescue workers continue digging through mud, clearing blocked tunnels and searching rivers downstream, authorities warn that the final toll could rise further. The scale of the disaster is already among the most severe to hit the Himalayan region in recent years, leaving thousands of families waiting for news of loved ones while survivors struggle to rebuild communities devastated within minutes. (ILKHA)