Two Irish among hundreds of tourists missing after deadly flash flood on Nepal-Tibet border

Torrential floods in the Himalayan border areas of Nepal and China’s Tibet killed at least 95 people and destroyed roads, bridges and power projects on Wednesday, police said, as authorities in both countries braced for more casualties and worse damage.At least 341 tourists, including two Irish nationals, 105 Indians, 93 Nepalis, three US citizens and 12 British nationals have been reported missing from the region, Nepal’s tourism authority said.Alpine Eco Trek, which offers guided tours and expeditions in Nepal, confirmed that two Irish nationals were among the missing.Ram Kumar Adhikari, manager of Alpine Eco Trek, told the Press Association that 12 British citizens - ranging in age from 13 to 65 - four South Africans were also missing.READ MOREKumar Adhikari said there was “not much info to share at the moment, but yes we have 12 British citizens (supposed) to make entry this morning”.The Nepal Tourism Board said its staff and tourist police are “working to verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travellers who were in or travelling through the affected areas”.Houses and roads were swept away in Nepal while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties”, with some people missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a land crossing between the ​neighbours.Rescue helicopters could not land in Nepal’s affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous district of Rasuwa, with a population of about 50,000, officials said, ⁠with the river flowing above its normal course.Television broadcast images of crumbled homes in the flood waters, floating cars and a ‌metal ‌bridge ​being washed away, while witnesses told Reuters the waters engulfed entire villages.“There could be heavy casualties or loss of property,” said district administrator Narendra Pariyar, who urged dwellers on the banks of the Bhote Koshi ⁠river to move to higher ground, after reports of ​villages and project sites being swept up.“There is devastation everywhere ​we look,” Tula Bahadur BK, a health worker in Rasuwa, told Reuters. “The settlements next to the river have been completely swept away. Five of ‌my own relatives are missing.”Rescuers carry a victim after flash floods at Devghat in Nepal's Nuwakot district. Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images Nepal’s rescue helicopters would be ​unable to land in the affected areas until the waters recede, an army spokesperson said.The cause of the inundation ⁠was not immediately clear, but a deadly flash flood on ⁠the same river last year ​was eventually traced to the draining of a glacier lake.China’s official Xinhua news agency said the mudslide occurred on the Nepali side and hit the Gyirong port to cut roads, communications and power links in the Shigatse region near the border with Nepal, but did not elaborate.China’s president Xi Jinping urged “all-out” search efforts for the missing as well as stronger monitoring and early-warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.Nepal’s energy ministry said electricity supplies were affected, mostly from hydroelectric projects.Police ‌and military were joining in ⁠the rescue effort, said prime minister Balendra Shah.“Instructions have been given ... to move the people living in the lower areas to safer places,” he said. “People along the river are advised to exercise extra caution and remain alert.”From its origins ‌in Tibet, the Bhote Koshi river empties into Nepal’s Trishuli river that eventually flows into India as the Gandak river.Last year’s Bhote Koshi flood killed nine people, ​with 24 missing, as it washed away a Friendship Bridge linking Nepal and China to disrupt trade ​and transport for months.That flood was triggered by the draining of a supraglacial lake in Tibet, a regional climate monitor said. – ReutersHouses arepartially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal. Photograph: Probin Ranabhat/ AFP via Getty Images