Death toll from Nepal floods tops 600, over 2,000 still missing

Flash floods in Nepal's northern regions near the Chinese border have killed more than 600 people across the country and in China's Tibet, with over 2,000 others reported missing, officials said. The waters swept through towns and caused severe damage to infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and hydroelectric power plants. Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said the country can manage search and rescue operations on its own, but needs foreign expertise and technical assistance to reach those trapped in tunnels, install portable bridges to replace those destroyed, reopen transport and communication lines, identify bodies, carry out DNA testing and store remains over the long term. Reversing an earlier stance, Khanal said Nepal has requested assistance from India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, according to Reuters. The government said roughly 20 bridges have collapsed in the disaster zone and portable bridges are needed to restore transport links. Rescue teams in Chitwan and Nawalparasi reported recovering a large number of bodies carried downstream, about 100 kilometers from the disaster site. Officials have indicated that Nepal will also require foreign support for the subsequent reconstruction and rehabilitation effort.