Day of Mourning

Nepal held a national day of mourning on Monday for victims of devastating glacial floods, as families of missing hydropower workers feared trapped in tunnels prayed rescuers might yet find them alive. The August 26 glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border killed at least 1,398 people, with more than 5,500 missing, including around 800 foreigners.

Flags flew at half-mast, with candlelight vigils planned later in the day, as the nation marked the 13th day after death, following Hindu mourning rituals. Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three from deep inside tunnels has buoyed hopes that more could still be alive.

"The lives we refuse to abandon"

"We have a lot of hope," said Reena Amatya Shrestha, whose brother is among the missing. "They say they are doing rescue. If the rescue is there, where's the result? We need the result." Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix said the operation presented an unprecedented challenge: "Not one rescue, but multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved."

Despite the gloom, there have been remarkable tales of survival. Chandika Shrestha, a 64-year-old Nepali woman, was pulled out alive from her mud-covered home on Saturday. Her family had already held a symbolic funeral ceremony, believing her dead. "Chandika has got a new life," her neighbour said. "It would be so good if the others who are missing also came back."