At least 22 people were killed after a flash flood tore through Nepal's Bhote Koshi valley on Wednesday, according to Nepal Police, with 384 travellers reported missing near the Tibet border. The Nepal Tourism Board said the missing include 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens, a preliminary figure it is still working to verify.
The death toll has fluctuated sharply across the day. Bagmati province police cited up to 31 dead by 17:25 local time, with 93 injured, while Nepal Police confirmed 18 dead by 15:45 — 7 in Nuwakot, 6 in Dhading, 4 in Gorkha, 1 in Rasuwa — a toll that later climbed to at least 22 confirmed bodies recovered. Other outlets put the count at 19, while an earlier Reuters tally stood at 9. Officials caution the search is still spreading across isolated valleys.
Earthquake-triggered avalanche blamed for surge
Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal told parliament a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, recorded by USGS at 08:37 local time, triggered an avalanche that sent melted snow into the Bhote Koshi River around 09:00. Nepal's weather agency said the surge was not caused by rainfall in Rasuwa, attributing it instead to the Tibet side. Scientists at ICIMOD and Kathmandu University, citing satellite analysis, linked the flood to an ice-rock avalanche on the Lhende Khola, a Bhote Koshi tributary roughly 20 km northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. Chinese state media Xinhua, by contrast, attributed the mudslide to "the Nepalese side" — a discrepancy Crisis.Zone has not resolved.
On the Tibet side, CCTV footage showed water and mud crashing into the Gyirong border checkpoint, submerging buildings. Chinese state media reported "major casualties" feared at Gyirong Port, without releasing an official figure. President Xi Jinping ordered "all-out" search efforts; Premier Li Qiang issued instructions and Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the site, with roughly 200 personnel and drones deployed. The response echoes flood mobilization in Liaoning last month and follows a magnitude 5.2 quake in southwest China earlier this year.
Six hydropower and transmission facilities were damaged, including Rasuwagadhi, Chilime, Trishuli 3A, the Trishuli 3B Hub 220 kV Substation, Trishuli Hydropower Station and Devighat Hydropower Station, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority. Khanal said 26 police, 9 armed police and 44 military personnel are among the missing.
Observers are reading: why the next 48 hours of helicopter access, not search personnel, will determine the final toll.
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Nepal's government convenes emergency response
Prime Minister Balendra Shah convened an emergency meeting Wednesday and ordered evacuations to higher ground in downstream districts. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is coordinating with Nepal on the missing Indian nationals. With roads, bridges and communications cut across Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan, officials say the confirmed toll is expected to rise as access improves — a pattern consistent with the region's history of cross-border flood events, including the monsoon flooding recently reported in Kerala.
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