GA Woman Remains Missing In Nepal Amid Floods That Have Killed 900+: Reports

NEPAL - A Georgia woman has disappeared amid floods in Nepal and China that have killed more than 950 people, media reports say Monday.

Mary Sorensen, a Canton woman who traveled to Nepal on a pilgrimage, was last heard from the morning of Aug. 25, WSB-TV reported, citing her family.

The next morning, the Earth began rattling along the Nepal-China border, and floodwaters overwhelmed the Asian countries, CNN reported.

Sorensen, whose last known location was an immigration center before her trek toward Kathmandu (Nepal's capital), is one of at least 85 American citizens who are unaccounted for, WSB-TV reported.

Scientists are still working to determine the official cause of the flooding, but they believe a significant glacier collapse and landslide may have led to the inundation, CNN reported.

The Nepali Cultural Center Atlanta on Sunday hosted a candlelight vigil for Nepal in Lilburn.

"Together, we will remember and honor those who have lost their lives, pray for those still missing or unaccounted for, and stand in solidarity with the families and communities affected by this tragedy," organizers said.

Rescuers raced Monday to free hundreds of workers believed to be trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites that were buried in mud by catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-China border, as the death toll climbed and increasingly desperate families searched for missing loved ones, the Associated Press reported.

The combined deaths in Nepal and China surpassed 950, with more than 4,400 people missing. A private-sector association representing power companies said at least 900 workers were unaccounted for at 12 hydropower projects damaged by the flash floods in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.

About 500 of those workers were believed to be trapped in tunnels. At least one expert said that some workers could have access to oxygen, but others warned that the chances of finding survivors were diminishing. As the rescue efforts intensified, four bodies were recovered from three mud-filled tunnels, Nepal’s army said.

Some workers managed to call for help when the disaster struck last Wednesday, and others who managed to flee reported to authorities and relatives that many of their colleagues were still in the tunnels, said Mohan Kumar Dangi, president of the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal, or IPPAN.

Six days after the disaster, fears were growing that some might have suffocated, Dangi said.

It was unclear whether rescuers have had any contact with the trapped workers since the initial calls for help.

The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing.