A violent surge of mud, rock and water tore through the Nepal-Tibet borderlands after a mountainside collapsed into a Himalayan river, leaving nearly 1,400 people unaccounted for — almost 800 of them foreigners — and entire communities in its path battered by flash floods.
At least 359 people have been killed on the Nepali side, police said today. Chinese state media earlier put the death toll in Chinese-controlled Tibet at three, bringing the overall number of confirmed fatalities to at least 362.
Rescue crews have turned to helicopters to scan ravines and washed-out settlements for survivors, while also airlifting emergency supplies to thousands cut off across a remote, high-altitude region popular with trekkers and pilgrims travelling between Lhasa and Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
Nepal’s disaster authority warned that a lake is now building at the flood site and continuing to rise, with fears it could burst. The authority said the lake formed after a river was blocked yesterday, and urged residents and responders to keep away from river banks.
Rescuers in Nepal have located about 100 missing Indian visitors and 25 Chinese workers, officials said this morning.
However, two Irish nationals and 12 UK citizens — including a 13-year-old girl — are still missing in Nepal’s Rasuwa region, according to the tour operator running their trip.
An elderly woman is rescued after the flash flooding the upper Lhende River in Tibet
Nepal’s disaster agency said 823 people remained out of contact, including at least 579 tourists.
Tourists reported missing come from more than two dozen countries, including 178 from India, 65 from the United States, 35 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.
On the Tibetan side, three people were killed in Gyirong county and 558 people were missing, Chinese authorities said, including 260 foreign nationals. It was not immediately clear whether the missing-person figures released by Nepal and China overlap.
Beijing’s foreign ministry said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were missing in Nepal, adding that “tourists and pilgrims” were among the foreigners missing in Tibet.
A spokesperson said authorities were still verifying details as search-and-rescue efforts continued.
Security personnel rescue people in a bulldozer from buildings damaged along the Trishuli River
Kumar Adhikari, manager of Alpine Eco Trek, said the two Irish nationals were part of a group on a nine-day tour to Mount Kailash and were crossing from Nepal into Tibet when the flash floods hit, trapping them at the border.
He said he remained in contact with his tour guides until 8.40am, when their phones went offline — a time when, he believed, the group would have been inside Tibet’s immigration office.
“We were hoping that inside it was safe,” he said.
“But later the video came from China’s government which (showed) even Tibet’s side was hit by the flood.”
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is closely monitoring developments.
The department said it — including the Embassy of Ireland to India, which covers Nepal — will provide consular assistance to impacted Irish citizens and their families.
It noted that, as with all consular cases, it does not comment on individual cases.
Irish citizens needing help can contact the Embassy of Ireland in India at +9111 4940 3200.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Verified videos captured torrents of water and debris tearing through a border crossing in Gyirong, sweeping away dozens of people. Farther downstream in Nepal, the floodwaters destroyed homes, washed out roads and damaged power projects.
In the worst-hit districts, Nepal’s army said helicopters are delivering tents, food and other relief supplies provided by neighbouring India.
Initial briefings from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake might have triggered a glacier collapse and set off the flooding.
The US Geological Survey later said a quake first reported at magnitude 4.4 was actually seismic energy produced by the collapse of glacial rock and ice, followed by a debris flow.
Many of the dead were travelling to Kailash Mansarovar, a sacred high-altitude pilgrimage destination in Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists, among others.
Mount Kailash — believed by Hindus to be the abode of Lord Shiva — stands near Lake Mansarovar, a site of religious significance across multiple faiths.
The US State Department said it is deploying a disaster response adviser and providing $500,000 in assistance.
A flood-damaged section of a highway in Nuwakot, Central Nepal
Canada is also tracking the emergency closely, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X, calling the floods “absolutely devastating”.
UN teams and partners are sending supplies and personnel to support affected communities in Nepal, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said 34 Australians were among those missing.
“Nepal … is a developing country,” he said.
“It doesn’t have the resources that an event like that would have in Australia, so information is difficult.”
CCTV captures people fleeing seconds before mudslide engulfs Nepal-China border crossing
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government will do “everything we can” to support British nationals in Nepal.
Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said today he was praying for those who died.
“I pray for all those who have lost their lives, and offer my sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved and to all those affected by this tragedy,” he said in a statement.
“Since this region has seen calamities in the past as well, these are certainly symptoms of a deeper underlying cause – whether climate change or other factors,” he added.
“I hope that appropriate follow-up measures will be taken, wherever possible, to help ensure that such disasters do not recur.”
The 91-year-old, who lives in exile in India, is widely recognised for his long-running campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, which Beijing says is an integral part of China.
Read more:
What triggered the catastrophic flood on the Nepal-Tibet border?
Drone footage captures devastation as floods wreak havoc in Nepal
Trekking company reports 47 missing
A trekking company said a separate group of 47 people, including two children, is missing in Nepal.
The group includes 15 Australians, 10 Canadians, nine Nepalese, eight Americans, two Britons, two Singaporeans and one Russian-American dual citizen, according to Himalayan Glacier managing director Sanket Pandey.
Among the 15 missing Australians are two teenage boys, he said.
Pandey said most of the group had been staying in the Rasuwagadhi area struck by the flood, with several travelling into the town.
Seven Nepali guides are among those missing, he added.
