The scale of the disaster expanded sharply overnight as authorities received information from previously inaccessible areas. Nepal’s tourism authorities said 579 tourists were missing, more than 400 of them foreigners. The figure superseded earlier estimates that 384 travellers were unaccounted for.
Pilgrims from India form one of the largest groups affected. Initial official figures listed 105 pilgrims from India among those missing, but the number subsequently rose to at least 133 as authorities reconciled passenger and tour-group records. The affected region is a major transit corridor for travellers visiting Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet.
Seventy-seven people travelling with a Kailash pilgrimage programme organised by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation were among those whose whereabouts had not been established. The group was returning from Kailash and was at an immigration centre in Gyirong, Tibet, when the flood struck.
The immigration building and large parts of the surrounding town were overwhelmed by water, mud and debris. Isha Foundation said it had received no official confirmation about the condition of the 77 pilgrims and was coordinating with authorities and volunteers involved in rescue work.
The foundation said 495 people from its 21 pilgrimage groups had already returned safely. Another 743 were in Tibet and 148 were in Nepal when the disaster struck. Three volunteers were also in Timure on the Nepal side of the border.
The flood swept through the Himalayan border region on Wednesday after a massive collapse of glacial ice and rock sent debris into the Lhende River, about 20 kilometres from the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. The resulting surge travelled through the Bhote Koshi river system, destroying settlements and infrastructure with little warning.
Early assessments had linked seismic activity detected around the same time to a possible earthquake. Subsequent scientific analysis indicated that the recorded seismic signal was generated by the collapse itself as ice and rock crashed into the valley and produced a powerful debris flow.
Timure in Rasuwa district was among the first settlements hit. The flood then moved towards Syaphrubesi and areas farther downstream, carrying boulders, mud and wreckage through the narrow river valley. Houses, vehicles, bridges and sections of road were swept away.
Nepal Army helicopters resumed operations on Thursday, searching inaccessible areas and ferrying survivors from locations cut off by damaged roads. Aircraft were also dropping tents, food and emergency supplies. High water levels and thick deposits of mud initially prevented helicopters from landing at some of the worst-hit locations.
The disaster has severely disrupted communications, complicating attempts to determine how many people remain trapped or missing. Power lines and roads leading towards the Nepal-China crossing were damaged, while access routes on the Tibetan side around Gyirong were also reported destroyed.
Chinese authorities reported hundreds missing in Gyirong County, including foreign nationals. The number could overlap with Nepal’s lists because some travellers were moving between the two countries when the disaster occurred, making an accurate cross-border count difficult during the first stages of the search.
The flooding has also caused extensive damage to Nepal’s energy network. About 430 megawatts of electricity generation capacity, including hydropower and solar installations, has been affected. Production, transmission and distribution facilities were damaged, leaving several flood-hit communities without electricity.
Workers at hydropower projects are among those unaccounted for. Eight South Korean nationals working at a hydropower facility were reported missing, while other foreign governments were attempting to establish the whereabouts of citizens travelling through the region.
The disaster has triggered warnings farther downstream as swollen rivers flow from Nepal towards densely populated areas. Thousands of residents were evacuated from vulnerable locations in Bihar as a precaution, while authorities continued monitoring river levels.
