Flash floods kill at least 160 in Nepal, hundreds missing

At least 160 people have been killed and hundreds remain missing after a flash flood swept through parts of Nepal near the border with Tibet, destroying villages and damaging roads, bridges, and power infrastructure, authorities say.

Nepali police said late Wednesday they had recovered 157 bodies as rescue teams continued evacuating people from areas at risk. Nepal’s tourism ministry said 403 tourists, including 341 foreigners, were unaccounted for. The missing foreigners included 142 Indians and nationals of Australia, Britain, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States.

Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle said 28 police personnel were also missing.

Casualties reported in Tibet

The disaster also affected neighboring Tibet, where Chinese authorities said at least three people had died and 265 remained missing in Gyirong County. State broadcaster CCTV said the figures were still being verified.

Xinhua reported “major casualties” after a mudslide struck the Gyirong port, cutting roads, communications, and power supplies in the Shigatse region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “all-out” efforts to search for those missing and urged authorities to strengthen monitoring and early-warning systems.

Rescue operations in Nepal were hampered by high water levels in Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous Rasuwa district, which prevented helicopters from landing, officials said.

District administrator Narendra Pariyar urged people living along the Bhote Koshi River to move to higher ground after reports that villages and infrastructure sites had been swept away.

“We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts,” said Sasmit Pokharel, a Nepali government spokesperson.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged national unity and said the government was taking responsibility for rescue, treatment, food, and shelter.

“The work of collecting details of the damage is under way,” the Nepal army said as it deployed helicopters and disaster-response personnel.

The Nepal Electricity Authority said about 430 megawatts of generation capacity, including hydropower and solar facilities, had been damaged.

“The disaster has damaged the production, transmission, and distribution facilities of the authority … resulting in disruption of electricity supply,” it said.

Eight South Koreans working at a hydropower plant were missing and 10 others stranded, South Korea’s foreign ministry said.

Possible avalanche trigger

The immediate cause of the flooding was not clear. Experts at Nepal’s International Center for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely triggered the surge.

“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice-rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said disaster risk specialist Saswata Sanyal.

The Bhote Koshi originates in Tibet and flows into Nepal’s Trishuli River before entering India as the Gandak.

A Bhote Koshi flood last year killed nine people, left 24 missing, and destroyed the Friendship Bridge linking Nepal and China.

India’s Bihar state has also begun evacuations in six districts amid concerns that floodwaters could reach the area.

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