Nepal Flood Deaths Top 900, Americans Among Missing

The death toll from last week's Himalayan flood on the Nepal-Tibet border has climbed past 900, with more than 4,700 people missing, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Rescue crews, joined by Chinese and Indian tunnel experts, worked through the night trying to reach hundreds of hydropower workers believed trapped inside about half a dozen project tunnels choked with mud and rock.

Americans are among the missing. A Tennessee-based group said more than 70 people associated with it are unaccounted for, including 22 Americans, and reported "no encouraging indications of survivors," WKBN reported.

The Numbers

Nepali authorities said 788 people had died and 2,500 were missing as of Sunday night, Reuters reported. Nepal's disaster management authority said 933 of the missing were workers at hydropower projects in the flood zone.

On the Chinese side, authorities said 16 people were killed in Gyirong County and 546 were missing. Beijing said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries were unaccounted for in Tibet, near a key border crossing with Nepal.

The Red Cross estimates more than 90,000 people were affected. The AP's Monday figure — over 900 dead, more than 4,700 missing — is higher than the national counts released Sunday night.