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Mud piles up in a residential area in Trishuli, Nuwakot District, Nepal, on the 27th (local time) following heavy flooding. / Reuters, Yonhap

Casualties are mounting uncontrollably as massive floods hitting Nepal and the Tibet region of China have left more than 1,500 people dead or missing.

Hundreds of foreign tourists also remain unaccounted for, while rescue and search operations face immense hurdles as villages, roads, and bridges have been swept away across the region.

According to major foreign media outlets including Reuters and AP on the 27th (local time), massive floods and landslides that struck north-central Nepal and Tibet the previous day left 165 dead and 826 missing in Nepal.

In China's Tibet Autonomous Region, at least three people were reported dead and 558 missing. Casualties are likely to rise further as rescue and search operations continue.

The disaster has impacted multiple nations, with foreigners accounting for nearly 800 of the missing. Around 500 foreigners are missing in Nepal, hailing from some 20 countries including India, the U.S., Australia, Britain, and Canada.

A significant portion of the missing are tourists and pilgrims visiting the Himalayas. A total of 133 Indians went missing during a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred Hindu site, while 62 Nepalese residents also lost contact while heading to Lake Gosaikunda, a revered pilgrimage destination for both Hindus and Buddhists.

Nine South Koreans also remain unaccounted for. Three employees from Korea South-East Power and six from Doosan Enerbility, who were working at a hydroelectric power plant construction site along the Trishuli River in the Rasuwa district, have been out of reach since the disaster occurred.

Rescue operations are severely hampered by the rugged terrain and severed transportation networks in the affected areas. Nepalese authorities deployed around 5,000 military and police personnel along with helicopters to search for survivors and deliver relief supplies to isolated areas.

However, access remains difficult as roads and bridges were washed away by the floodwaters, and telecommunications were cut off in some areas. Nepalese rescue authorities rescued 125 people, including 20 foreigners, on the 27th.

The risk of additional flooding also looms. Rivers and glaciers in the affected areas remain unstable, and Chinese authorities are on high alert over the potential for further disasters in upstream regions.