At least 160 people have died and hundreds remain missing after a sudden wall of water, mud and rock swept through Himalayan communities near the Nepal-China border on Wednesday, according to police in Nepal and Chinese state media. Nepalese police reported 157 deaths, while CCTV reported three deaths and 265 people missing in Tibet's Gyirong County. The figures remained provisional as rescuers struggled to reach isolated valleys.
In Nepal, officials said 403 people were reported missing, including 341 foreign nationals. The missing included pilgrims and tourists travelling toward Mount Kailash, as well as local residents, workers and security personnel. Nepal's tourism authorities listed citizens of India, the United States, Australia, Britain and Canada among those unaccounted for, while governments urged travellers to follow local safety instructions.
The flood tore through settlements in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and damaged roads, bridges, communications, electricity networks and hydropower facilities. Images reviewed by international news agencies showed buildings buried in thick mud, vehicles swept aside and riverbank homes badly damaged. Authorities warned communities along the Bhote Koshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers to move away from the water and seek higher ground.
Scientists at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an ice-and-rock avalanche from a glacier likely blocked a tributary before releasing a violent surge downstream. Measurements indicated that the Trishuli River rose by as much as nine metres in about 30 minutes at one location. Experts stressed that the precise sequence was still under investigation and that an earthquake reported around the time of the disaster had not been established as the cause.
Nepal deployed soldiers, police, medical teams and helicopters, but high water, damaged roads and continuing monsoon rain impeded access to some of the worst-hit areas. Chinese authorities also mounted a large search operation near Gyirong. Officials warned that ice, rock and debris remaining upstream could produce another surge, adding urgency to evacuations and monitoring across the border region and downstream areas of India.
The same corridor suffered a deadly flood last year that destroyed a key bridge and disrupted Nepal-China trade for months. Researchers say glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya are losing ice at an accelerating rate as temperatures rise, increasing concern about unstable slopes and sudden floods. The immediate priorities are locating survivors, restoring access and determining whether further river blockages threaten communities downstream.
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