Ukraine says 56 citizens still missing after Nepal floods and landslides

Search operations were continuing as of 2 p.m. Kyiv time.

On the Chinese side of the border, rescue teams have gained access to the hardest-hit area around the Girung checkpoint, the ministry said. Heavy machinery still cannot reach the site because roads remain blocked by mud.

Searches are also continuing inside hydropower plant tunnels in Nepal, where people may have sought shelter from the sudden flooding.

Nepalese military personnel and specialized international teams are working at several locations, including the Chilime and Langtang areas.

“The current stage of the operation is characterized by a transition from the initial search and access to the most heavily affected territory to expanded ground and deep-search operations,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Ukrainian consulates and embassies remain in constant contact with the relatives of Ukrainians missing in the disaster zone and are coordinating with authorities in China, India and Nepal, the ministry added.

Death toll exceeds 1,000

As of Sept. 2, more than 1,000 people had been confirmed dead a week after catastrophic flash floods and landslides struck Nepal and neighboring Tibet, while around 4,000 remained missing.

Nepalese rescuers have said hopes of finding more missing people alive are fading.

The disaster began on Aug. 26 after a glacier collapsed near the Nepal-China border, sending a massive flow of rocks, ice, mud and debris cascading through Himalayan river valleys.

Water levels rose sharply, flooding settlements along the path of the torrent.

Thousands of foreign pilgrims and tourists were in the region at the time.