Kathmandu

China provided USD 2.2 million in financial assistance to Nepal for victims of the devastating flash flood, with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang expressing condolences over the loss of lives and property, the government said on Monday.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming handed over a cheque for NPR 350 million, equivalent to USD 2 million, to Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle on Sunday as assistance from the Chinese government, the Finance Ministry said.

The Chinese envoy also handed over USD 200,000 in assistance from the Chinese Red Cross to the Nepal government, it said.

"Nepal is not alone in this disaster; China is always with Nepal," Zhang conveyed to Wagle on behalf of Xi and Li.

The Chinese leaders expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the disaster and conveyed their condolences to the victims' families, the ministry said.

The death toll from flash floods in Nepal rose to 903 on Monday, with bodies continuing to be recovered, while nearly 4,250 people are still missing following the disaster.

The disaster, believed to have been triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal on August 26.

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The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.

It killed 16 people on the Chinese side as well, while nearly 550 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.