Nepal flood death toll crosses 1,000, rescuers reach remote areas

KATHMANDU/BEIJING – The death toll from Nepal’s devastating floods surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday as rescuers deployed heavy machinery, helicopters and excavators to reach thousands still missing nearly a week after the Himalayan disaster tore through towns and valleys. Specialized rescue teams from China, India and Nepal built temporary bridges to reach remote areas and dug through the ruins of hydropower projects, using excavators to try to rescue nearly 300 workers trapped inside tunnels. A glacier collapse on August 26 sent a deluge of ice, rock and mud sweeping through the impoverished nation’s border region with China.