Death toll nears 700 in Nepal, China floods as over 3,000 remain missing

The death toll from devastating flash floods and landslides in Nepal and China's Tibet region has risen to 691, with more than 3,000 people still missing, according to the latest figures from authorities and local media.

Nepal's disaster agency reported 675 deaths and 2,498 people missing, while Chinese authorities said 16 people had died and 546 remained unaccounted for in Tibet, an autonomous region of China.

Only 20 of the 669 bodies recovered in the disaster had been identified by relatives as of Saturday evening, the Kathmandu Post reported. Authorities are racing to preserve evidence and find space for the dead as hospital mortuaries reach capacity and recovered remains begin to decompose.

In its latest update, the Nepal Tourism Board said 261 foreign nationals had been rescued, while 320 remained unaccounted for.

The US announced more than $3.6 million in humanitarian assistance for flood-hit Nepal on Saturday, including emergency food aid for up to 10,000 affected households.

Deputy Inspector General Abi Narayan Kafle, the Nepal Police spokesperson, told the Kathmandu Post that the distance over which bodies had been carried by floodwaters had made identification particularly difficult.

"Of the 669 bodies recovered, 211 were found as mutilated, partial or severed remains, making visual identification extraordinarily difficult," Kafle said. "Many remains were buried under thick mud and water for two to three days."