Catastrophic Glacial Floods Leave 270 Dead and Over 1,300 Missing Across Nepal and Tibet

Rescue teams are urgently searching for hundreds of missing people along the border between Nepal and China following a catastrophic torrent of floodwater and mud. The disaster, triggered by a glacier collapse the previous day, swept through several communities, leaving at least 270 people dead and more than 1,300 missing, including foreign nationals and pilgrims.

Authorities report that hundreds of others have been displaced across the Himalayan region. Search efforts are severely hampered as dozens of bridges have been destroyed and nearly 40km (25 miles) of roads have sustained heavy damage.

According to army spokesman Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet, Nepali army helicopter operations successfully rescued more than 100 people from flood-affected areas on Thursday. At least eight foreign nationals were airlifted to the capital, Kathmandu, while army teams evacuated people trapped in facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project.

Rescuers have recovered bodies approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) downstream from the disaster zone in Chitwan district, and dozens of injured individuals have been transported to Kathmandu for advanced medical care.

Bishal Kumar Bhandari, chairperson of the Nepal Red Cross Society, stated that the focus has now shifted from rescue to large-scale relief operations in flood-hit districts, noting that about 1,200 people have been displaced from at least three villages.

Meanwhile, in Tibet, a mudslide near the land border crossing at Gyirong on Wednesday left surrounding areas buried under mud more than 1.5 metres (5 feet) deep on average, with some road sections exceeding 2 metres (6 feet), as reported by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.