Death toll from flooding in Nepal and China passes 1,000

The death toll from the flood catastrophe in the Himalayas has risen to more than 1,000 across Nepal and Tibet, authorities said on Tuesday.

Police in Kathmandu said in their latest figures that 1,007 people had died in Nepal alone. China had previously reported 16 deaths in Tibet.

Authorities said many of the bodies recovered were badly disfigured and in some cases already severely decomposed. The death toll is expected to rise further in the coming days and weeks.

The number of people missing in Nepal has risen to almost 4,600, according to a police spokesman. Nearly 550 people were still missing in Tibet.