Multi-level parking collapses; cars, buses swept away in Tibet during flash floods

Devastating visuals emerging from the Nepal-China border area show cars and buses being swept away as raging floodwaters overwhelm and collapse a multi-level parking structure in China's Tibet.Terrifying CCTV footage from Tibet captures the moment panic gripped the area as hundreds of people ran for shelter while a massive torrent came crashing down from the hills. A wall of water and debris tore through Gyirong Port in China’s Tibet on Wednesday, sweeping away cars and buses parked on a multi-level parking structure and reducing parts of the busy border area to mud and rubble.Terrifying CCTV footage from the Chinese side, opposite Nepal’s Rasuwa district, captures the moment panic gripped the area as hundreds of people ran for shelter while a massive torrent came crashing down from the hills.The footage shows several cars and buses parked across the upper levels of the multi-level parking facility as floodwaters rapidly surge into the area. Within moments, the force of the raging water overwhelms the structure, sending vehicles tumbling away as the parking building itself collapses under the powerful currents.What follows is a haunting scene of destruction, with thick mud and debris covering an area that had moments earlier been bustling with activity. Watch video here: The devastation extended across the Nepal-China border, with houses, roads and power infrastructure washed away in Nepal. Authorities in Tibet warned of possible major casualties after a mudslide struck a border crossing in Gyirong county.The disaster has left at least 55 people dead in Nepal, while hundreds of travellers remain missing. Nepal’s tourism authority said 133 Indians, 93 Nepalis, three US citizens and 12 British nationals, were reported missing from the region. The scale of destruction has also prompted flood alerts in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as several rivers originating in the Himalayas flow from Nepal into the two Indian states.The flooding followed a rapid and alarming rise in river levels. Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said the river crossed the warning level of seven metres at around 11.15 am IST before breaching the danger level of eight metres within just 10 minutes.The precise cause of the mudslide remains unconfirmed. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said a magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred approximately seven minutes before the time shown on the security footage.Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said an ice-rock avalanche in the Lhende Khola river on the Nepali side may have triggered the flooding.Meanwhile, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that the mudslide originated on the Nepali side and struck the Gyirong port, disrupting roads, communication networks and power supply in the border area of Shigatse. It did not provide further details.Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that at least 574 rescuers had been deployed to the Gyirong land crossing to assist with the search and rescue operation.A rescuer told CCTV that teams could take at least four hours to reach the affected area as pathways were blocked by sediment measuring around 1.5 metres (5 feet) deep. The rescuer said the debris had flowed upstream from the Nepalese side of the crossing.Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an “all-out” search for those missing and urged authorities to strengthen monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Aug 26, 2026 18:09 IST