Rescuers in Nepal are continuing efforts to reach more than 600 workers believed to be trapped in mud-filled tunnels along the Trishuli River. Explosives are being used to blast into hillsides, and air is being pumped into the Trishuli-3A site, amid fears that the window to find survivors is closing.
The country's disaster management authority reported on Monday that the death toll from the flood disaster on the Nepal-Tibet border has reached 939. The agency also revised its estimate of missing people to 3,925, including 592 foreign nationals. Roughly one in seven missing individuals are believed to be workers at hydropower plants.
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah stated on Monday that 279 people have been rescued from the sites. An international team, including Chinese and Nepalese military personnel, is leading the rescue operation, with experts from India, Korea, and Australia also involved.
In Chitwan, a district downstream from the initial flood impact, temporary burials are taking place for nearly 300 unidentified bodies brought by the river systems. Medical staff and volunteers are working to extract DNA from the remains for identification.