Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Rescuers race to find thousands missing after deadly Himalayan floods Rescue crews are struggling through blocked roads, high mountain canyons and dangerous terrain as they search for thousands of people missing in Nepal and Tibet. World Rescuers race to find thousands missing after deadly Himalayan floods August 29, 20265:14 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered Jennifer Pak Rescuers race to find thousands missing after deadly Himalayan floods Listen · 2:28 2:28 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5948040/nx-s1-9906470" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Rescue crews are struggling through blocked roads, high mountain canyons and dangerous terrain as they search for thousands of people missing in Nepal and Tibet. Sponsor Message Transcript
JOEL ROSE, HOST:
Rescue teams in both Nepal and China are racing against the clock to find survivors after deadly floods along the border Wednesday. At least 600 are dead and nearly 3,000 are missing, including dozens of Americans, according to authorities in both countries. The flood happened after a massive chunk of ice apparently separated from a glacier, sending waves of mud, ice and water gushing down the Himalayas. We begin our coverage with NPR's Jennifer Pak in Beijing.
JENNIFER PAK, BYLINE: Most of the roads and bridges to the worst-hit area, the Gyirong Rasuwa border checkpoint, have been cut off to rescuers. Though a Chinese team has gotten close on foot by trekking overnight, says Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reporter Zhang Congjing (ph), who accompanied them and filed this video report.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZHANG CONGJING: (Non-English language spoken).
PAK: "The cliff I'm standing on is almost a 90-degree drop," she says, pointing down. "And there are big boulders all around, so it's still relatively risky from here onwards."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZHANG: (Non-English language spoken).
PAK: She's breathing heavily, partly from the region's high altitude that has also slowed their progress. The Chinese government heavily restricts foreign journalists from accessing Tibet, so we're reliant on China's state media for information. Another CCTV crew accompanying a separate team had made it to the border checkpoint already, only to find vast stretches of mud.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Ah, ah.
PAK: Suddenly, they spot a car and tree branches poking out.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Speaking Chinese).
PAK: "Is anyone there?" the rescuers call out. They must work fast, says a team leader, Jian Wanqiang, from the Tibet Corps of the People's Armed Police Force.
JIAN WANQIANG: (Non-English language spoken).
PAK: "Right now, we face risks of further floods, landslides and avalanches," he says. The rescue efforts are different in Tibet and neighboring Nepal, says Dai Zili with Beijing's International Association for Geohazard Mitigation, speaking on CCTV.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DAI ZILI: (Non-English language spoken).
PAK: On Nepal's side, he says, the landscape has more flat valleys that make rescue routes easier. But in Tibet, high mountain canyons make it harder for rescue crews and supplies to enter.
At a Kathmandu teaching hospital, NPR's Mamita Bhandari saw people checking lists of the missing. A few seem slightly dazed. But the worst part now may be the wait. Jennifer Pak, NPR News, Beijing. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{310:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(80)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(769),o(155),o(176),o(93),o(447),o(254),o(128),o(130),o(754),o(175),o(755),o(255),o(78),o(773)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},782:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(310)}},[[782,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();