Nepal-Tibet Border Floods: Hundreds Dead and Missing After Glacial Collapse

Casualties and Missing Persons Along the Nepal-Tibet Border

The death toll climbed to approximately 360 people, according to reports from Trishuli, Nepal, while independent updates from the Nepal Tourism Board listed 644 missing individuals as of 12:00 pm local time on Thursday. Among the missing are nine Singaporeans, according to the Nepal Tourism Board update. Nepal police reported late Wednesday that 157 bodies had been recovered.

According to the Associated Press, citing Sunil Sharma, a Nepal tourism board spokesperson, over 400 missing tourists include approximately 340 foreigners. Among those missing are 133 Indian pilgrims, 47 Americans, 34 Australians, 33 Britons, and 24 Canadians. South Korea separately confirmed that eight of its nationals working on a hydropower plant in the area are missing. Across the border in China’s Gyirong county, China’s state broadcaster reported that three people were confirmed dead and 265 were missing, with tolls still being verified.

The affected region serves as a popular route to Kailash Manasarovar in Tibet, a site visited annually by hundreds of Hindu pilgrims from India and other nations.

Cause of the Glacier Collapse and Subsequent Floods

Initial reports from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake may have caused the lower part of a glacier to collapse. However, the US Geological Survey (USGS) clarified that the tremor recorded at the time was actually caused by the mass of glacial rock and ice collapsing directly onto the valley floor. The German Research Centre for Geosciences recorded a 4.4-magnitude quake approximately seven minutes before the time stamped on security footage capturing the disaster.

Security footage from the Chinese side of the border captured residents fleeing just before a torrent of rock, mud, and water destroyed buildings and vehicles. Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor receiving treatment at a small hospital, described the event to reporters: “It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us. 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.” Another survivor recounted escaping by clinging to a mango tree while watching the house where he was working vanish.

Rescue Operations and International Response

Rescuers are actively searching for survivors while authorities warn of the ongoing risk of a secondary flood caused by a potentially unstable flood lake. In Nuwakot and Dhading, residents gathered outside a Nepali army training center—which serves as the base for helicopter rescue operations—seeking information about missing relatives. Police recorded the names of the missing outside the barracks gate using mobile phone flashlights because the region remains without electricity following damage to local hydropower infrastructure.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated that UN teams and partners are mobilizing supplies and personnel in Nepal to support affected communities. In the United States, a State Department spokesperson confirmed that the agency is aware of Americans impacted by the floods and is tracking the situation closely. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X that Canada is closely following the situation, describing the floods as “absolutely devastating.”