Nearly 1,500 missing as rescuers struggle to reach survivors of Nepal-Tibet flash floods

Nearly 1,500 people including at least 800 foreigners are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet, authorities said on Thursday, after a glacial wall of mud and rock collapsed into a Himalayan ‌river, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys.Alpine Eco Trek, which offers guided tours and expeditions in Nepal, told the Press Association that two Irish nationals were among those missing from its tour groups.Police said they expected the death toll to rise beyond 165. “This will go up, as we have resumed the search and more bodies are expected to be recovered,” a police spokesperson told Reuters. Rescuers are struggling to reach communities cut off by floods.READ MORERescuers in Nepal used helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands cut off after Wednesday’s disaster swept a rugged mountainous region thronged by trekkers and pilgrims linking Lhasa in Tibet with the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. ​Almost 600 foreigners were among 826 people missing in Nepal, police and tourism officials said.Among the missing tourists from more than two dozen countries, 177 were from India, 63 were from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.The tally of missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county was 558, Chinese state broadcaster ​CCTV said on Thursday, including 260 foreign nationals.Verified videos showed crushing masses of water and debris sweeping away dozens of people at a border crossing in Gyirong, with homes, roads and power projects washed away further downstream in Nepal.“It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards ⁠us,” said Keshav Prasad Baral (68), a survivor being treated in hospital.[ What triggered catastrophic flood on the Nepal-Tibet border?Opens in new window ][ Two Irish among hundreds of tourists missing after deadly flash flood on Nepal-Tibet borderOpens in new window ]“As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my ‌wife’s ‌hand ​and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud.”A helicopter ferried him to safety four hours later. “My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud,” he added. “She’s gone.” Another survivor said he saved himself by clinging to a mango tree as he watched the house where he had been working disappear.In ⁠the hardest-hit districts, helicopters are dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India, ​said a spokesperson for Nepal’s army. More than 5,000 army and police rescue personnel were ​mobilised to look for survivors and find bodies. Early reports from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake in the area could have caused the lower part of a glacier to collapse and trigger the floods.GRAPHIC WARNING: This video contains sensitive footage that may disturb some viewers. A massive flash flood in the Himalayan border areas of Nepal and ‌China's Tibet washed away villages while damaging roads, bridges and power projects in a region bordering Tibet, authorities… pic.twitter.com/risp0biV2w— Reuters (@Reuters) August 26, 2026 The US Geological Survey said an earthquake ‌with magnitude initially reported as 4.4 was in fact seismic energy generated by the ​collapse of glacial rock and ice, followed by debris flow.Chinese authorities have identified risks from a still-dammed lake in Gyirong, upstream from the mudslide and flood-stricken Tibet-Nepal border crossing that could significantly complicate rescue efforts ⁠in the mountainous site, CCTV reported on Thursday.Many of the victims were making a pilgrimage ⁠to Kailash Mansarovar, a high-altitude site in Tibet revered by ​Hindus and Buddhists among others.Mount Kailash, which Hindus believe to be the abode of Lord Shiva, lies on the banks of Lake Mansarovar, also held sacred in various religions.The US State Department said it was sending a disaster response adviser and providing assistance of $500,000 (€429,000).Canada was also closely following the situation, Prime minister Mark Carney said on X, describing the floods as “absolutely devastating”.UN teams and partners were sending supplies and personnel to support affected Nepali communities, secretary general António Guterres said.An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devighat, Bidur Municipality, in Nepal's Nuwakot district. Photograph: Prabin RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said details on the disaster were scant.“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.” Sagar Pandey, the chief executive of a Himalayan tourism operator, said 15 Indian-Australians on a pilgrimage tour with the company were missing.“There are no human-made things, no human settlement left. Everything is just flat,” he told Reuters after flying over the zone in a helicopter. “So anyone in the hotel, the restaurant, or the car, I believe that everybody ‌is gone.”Security ⁠footage captured on the Chinese side of the border showed many people fleeing from a torrent of rock, mud and water that destroyed buildings and vehicles. People seeking information about family members missing from the affected areas of Nuwakot and Dhading gathered outside a Nepali army training centre that was the base for helicopter rescue operations, the images showed. In the affected areas, layers of ‌mud metres thick swathed homes, trees and vehicles. Helicopters ferrying survivors hovered overhead all day.An initial study of Planet Labs satellite imagery showed a landslide of ice and rock unleashed a flood carrying debris in the Lhende River, about 20km (12 miles) northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi ​border crossing, Nepal disaster management officials said on X.Rescue personnel carry the body of a victim who died after flash floods near Devighat, Bidur Municipality, in Nepal's Nuwakot district. Photograph: Ishara S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images Television images showed collapsed homes, floating cars and a metal bridge being washed away, while witnesses said ​the waters engulfed entire villages.“There is devastation everywhere we look,” said Tula Bahadur BK, a health worker in Rasuwa.“The settlements next to the river have been completely swept away. Five of my own relatives are missing.” – Reuters