Nepal-Tibet flash floods kill 362 as India searches for 290 nationals

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Aug 27, 2026 21:32 IST

The death toll from the massive flash floods in Nepal and neighbouring Tibet rose to 362 on Thursday, as rescuers searched for hundreds still missing and India stepped up efforts to trace 290 uncontactable Indian nationals. Nepal reported 359 deaths and Tibet three, while authorities on both sides of the border said 1,468 people were missing.

The floods were triggered on Wednesday by an ice-rock avalanche caused by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border, sending water, mud and debris through central Nepal. The disaster destroyed homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, damaged hydropower projects, and raised fresh fears downstream after a new barrier lake formed near the source of the Bhote Koshi river system.

Nepal authorities said 910 people were missing, while officials in Tibet put the number missing there at 558. Families crowded hospitals in search of relatives as rescuers combed river corridors clogged with mud and debris. Nepalese security personnel have evacuated more than 800 people from affected districts, while helicopters, drones and ground teams continued searches in isolated settlements, riverbanks and downstream areas.

India said it was making "urgent efforts" to ascertain the whereabouts of its nationals and coordinate rescue operations. The Ministry of External Affairs said 84 Indian nationals had been rescued, including 63 workers at the under-construction Trishuli-I run-of-river hydroelectric project and 21 people from Tamil Nadu. Around 200 Indian nationals on the Tibet side have sought help for evacuation. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, after a high-level meeting attended virtually by India's envoys in Kathmandu and Beijing, said urgent efforts were under way to ascertain the status and well-being of Indians in the flood-hit areas. He said the ministry was coordinating with the Nepalese side, other ministries, state governments, tour operators and relevant authorities.

India also increased relief assistance to Nepal. After sending 10 tonnes of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material on Wednesday, it sent another 37.5 tonnes of relief material, medicines and food packets on Thursday in a military transport aircraft, taking the total dispatched to 47.5 tonnes.

Authorities warned that the emergency could worsen because of the new barrier lake upstream. Chinese authorities estimated that about 2 million cubic metres of water had collected in the lake by Thursday morning, with another 3 million cubic metres potentially flowing into it over the next three days. The lake has formed near the confluence of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, which originate in Tibet and flow into Nepal as part of the Bhote Koshi river system. Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said it had received information from Chinese authorities and warned of a continuing flood risk in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river areas, urging people to stay away from riverbanks and remain in safe places. Chinese authorities are monitoring the lake and carrying out flood simulations and risk assessments, while a Chinese rescue team with communications and detection equipment has reached Gyirong to assess the upstream blockage.

The floods first hit Rasuwa district, about 160 km from Kathmandu, after the avalanche and debris flow near the border. A torrent of water, mud, rocks and debris swept through Timure and Rasuwagadhi before surging downstream through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. A preliminary assessment by Nepalese authorities and a revised analysis by the US Geological Survey said the disaster was triggered by a glacial collapse and debris flow, not by an earthquake. The USGS said long-period seismic waves showed that what was first reported as a 4.4-magnitude earthquake was in fact generated by the glacial collapse and debris flow. Nepal's disaster management authority said the debris-laden flood began in the Lhende River after an ice-rock landslide near the Nepal-China border, about 20 km northeast of Rasuwagadhi, and later entered the Trishuli after passing through Timure.

The scale of damage has severely complicated rescue work. Images from the affected areas showed buildings swept away or left standing in thick mud and debris, vehicles buried or washed off, roads torn apart and bridges destroyed. The Department of Roads in Nepal said the entire 42-km stretch between Betrawati in Nuwakot and Rasuwagadhi was damaged at several points, while several concrete bridges were washed away. Nepal's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 35 motorable bridges, 45 suspension bridges and about 40 km of black-topped roads were damaged. The Trishuli and Devighat hydropower projects and other power infrastructure were also hit. Efforts were under way to reopen the Galchhi-Baireni road in Dhading, a key route linking Kathmandu with other parts of Nepal. Nepal Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said 132 bodies had been recovered from Chitwan, the highest among the affected districts, with more bodies found in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Tanahun and Nawalparasi. Officials said at least 44 Nepali Army personnel, 28 Nepal Police personnel and 13 Armed Police Force personnel remained unaccounted for, along with around 160 people working at hydropower projects and customs offices.

The search also extended to hospitals. At Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, authorities posted lists of people brought there so families could check whether relatives had been rescued or were being treated. Photographs of those who died were displayed, and desks were set up to record details of missing people. Similar scenes were reported at Bharatpur Hospital in Chitwan, where families searched for relatives as authorities struggled with the rising number of bodies and the mortuary was reportedly running out of space. Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah visited Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot on Thursday to inspect affected areas, while Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Gyirong Township to oversee rescue and relief work. Chinese state media said the People's Liberation Army's Western Theatre Command had sent a directing group to coordinate military rescue operations. Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal also spoke by phone with top officials in the US, the UK and several other countries, who expressed solidarity and committed support for search and rescue work.

Officials also rescued 27 foreign tourists stranded in Rasuwa on Thursday and airlifted them to Kathmandu by Nepal Army helicopters. They included 11 Indians, four South Koreans, two Italians and two US citizens, while the nationalities of the remaining eight had not been confirmed by the Nepal Tourism Board. Most of the affected Indian tourists were travelling towards Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet or Gosainkunda in Nepal's Bagmati Province. With roads cut off, bridges washed away, settlements buried and the threat of another surge still in place, authorities are continuing rescue, relief and tracing operations across the flood-hit region.

With PTI Inputs

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