Nepali rescuers faced challenging conditions yesterday as search operations after catastrophic floods entered their 12th day, buoyed by the extraordinary rescues of four survivors.

The glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border has killed at least 1,372 people and left more than 5,500 missing across the two countries. The death toll in Tibet from the devastating floods has risen from 31 to 43, Chinese state media reported yesterday.

Rescuers found two more people alive on Saturday, joining two saved the day before in what have been described as miraculous tales of survival. Three of those have been found in hydropower tunnels where the government initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive.

“Search and rescue is going on at the tunnels despite geography, adverse weather and lack of connectivity,” Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha told AFP. Rescue workers were experiencing “multiple challenges”, he said.

Nepal will hold a national day of mourning today, the 13th day since the disaster, in line with a traditional period of mourning in Hindu rituals.

The wall of icy water and debris tore through mountain districts on August 26, destroying roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Nepal will hold a national day of mourning today, the 13th day since the disaster, in line with a traditional period of mourning in Hindu rituals.

On Saturday, rescuers pulled a Chinese man alive from deep inside a hydropower tunnel, and a 64-year-old Nepali woman, Chandrika Shrestha, from her mud-covered home.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the latter rescue had “given hope to the entire nation”.

About 20 Chinese rescue workers in bright orange operated excavators, shovels and ground-penetrating radar detectors yesterday in an effort to find hundreds of people missing since a tsunami-like mudslide destroyed China’s main border crossing with Nepal.