Death toll from Nepal-China flash floods jumps to 472

The death toll in Nepal from devastating flash floods in the border region with China has risen to at least 469, police said on Friday.

Nepalese police said 1,545 people had been rescued, many of them injured.

With three deaths also reported by China, the confirmed toll from the disaster has reached 472. More than 1,400 people are still missing.

Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle told dpa that officials still lacked a clear picture of the number of missing and said it could take several days before the full scale of the disaster was known.

Dozens of bodies have yet to be identified, police said, partly because the force of the floodwaters, mud and debris left many victims badly disfigured or tore bodies apart.