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A devastating flash flood along the Nepal-Tibet border has left hundreds of people missing, including 291 foreign tourists, and killed at least 18 people, turning the remote Himalayan region into a major disaster zone.
The sudden deluge, reportedly triggered by an earthquake-induced avalanche early Wednesday, swept through settlements, destroyed bridges, damaged buildings, severed key highways and disrupted communications on both sides of the border.
The communications blackout has left families, employers and governments struggling to determine the fate of those caught in the disaster.
In Kathmandu, Chinese logistics businessman Yee Liang said he had lost contact with seven container trucks operated by Nepali crews in the border area.
“We have lost contact with all of them. There is no signal, so we cannot reach anyone,” he said.
Across the border in China’s Sichuan province, Guan Daoxuan was also anxiously waiting for news of his wife, who works for a state-run construction company involved in building roads and bridges in Tibet.
The disaster has also affected foreign nationals working in Nepal. South Korea’s foreign ministry said eight of its nationals working at a hydropower project in the Trishuli river basin had become uncontactable.
The flood struck local communities with extraordinary force. In Trishuli Bazar in Nuwakot district, videos verified by media outlets showed the Trishuli River rapidly swelling into a massive torrent of muddy water and sediment. In less than a minute, floodwaters ripped a major bridge from its concrete supports and swept through buildings.
“There were occasional mudslides and landslides, especially in the rainy season, but this one seems much more serious,” Liang said.
The disaster has also taken a heavy toll on security personnel and government officials deployed along the border.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said 26 civil police officers, nine armed police personnel and 44 members of the military were missing after the initial flooding. Customs and immigration officials at the border were also reported missing.
At least 18 Nepalese people have been confirmed dead, including seven in Nuwakot, six in Dhading, four in Gorkha and one in Rasuwa.
On the Tibetan side, Chinese state media reported “major casualties” and extensive damage, although a full toll was not immediately available.
The large number of missing foreign travelers has added an international dimension to the disaster. Authorities are working to establish the whereabouts of hundreds of people who were in the region when the flood struck.
The affected highway is also an important gateway to Langtang National Park and Gosainkunda, a sacred alpine lake that attracts thousands of Hindu pilgrims. Many pilgrims had been preparing to travel to the area ahead of Friday’s Rakshabandhan festival.
Instead, the region has been left covered in mud, with homes partially submerged and roads and bridges destroyed.
Nepal’s military has launched a large-scale search-and-rescue operation, deploying 15 helicopters to evacuate stranded residents and reach isolated communities.
In Mailung, around 115 people were reportedly trapped after the disaster. Rescue teams have so far evacuated 88 people, but strong winds and difficult mountain terrain have hampered efforts to reach communities cut off by the flood.
The scale of the damage remains unclear because communications remain disrupted in many areas.
Rescue teams are continuing to search for missing residents, security personnel, workers and foreign nationals as authorities on both sides of the border assess the destruction.
For families waiting for information about their loved ones, the continuing communications blackout has compounded the uncertainty, while rescuers race against time to reach those stranded in the remote Himalayan terrain.