VIDEO: At least 168 people have died in Nepal floods. Over a thousand people are missing
Damaged roads, bridges and highways are slowing rescues, while flood warnings have forced evacuations in Bihar and left foreign travellers unaccounted for.
neljapäev, 27. august 2026 08:46
At least 165 people have died in Nepal, three in Tibet and more than 1,100 are missing after a glacial collapse on Wednesday triggered flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border, The Economic Times reported in an Aug. 27, 2026, update.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 165 bodies had been recovered near the Bhotekoshi river and identification was under way. Nepal reported 579 missing travellers, including 466 foreigners and 113 Nepalis, while China’s Xinhua News Agency reported 558 missing people in Tibet’s Gyirong county. The combined missing figure may include data authorities are still working to reconcile.
India placed Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on alert for possible flash flooding. About 5,000 people were evacuated in Bihar after warnings were issued, and India is coordinating with Nepal on rescue and relief efforts amid reports that 133 Indian pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash were among those missing.
The collapse sent water and debris down the Lhende Khola river system, sweeping through Nepal’s Rasuwa district and Tibet’s Gyirong county. Videos and drone footage showed muddy floodwaters washing away roads and bridges, burying vehicles and damaging buildings. Nepal’s disaster authority said as many as 80 bridges and 40 kilometres of paved highway had been damaged or swept away.
At least 83 security personnel in Nepal, including police and armed forces members, were reported missing. Hundreds of people have been rescued by helicopter, but damaged infrastructure, difficult terrain and debris slowed relief operations. The United States Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake near Kathmandu, then revised its assessment and said a glacial collapse and debris flow caused “subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream”.
Researchers have found glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya are melting faster, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000. Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist, said the Lhende Khola had flooded twice in 14 months, this time after an ice-rock avalanche blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream. He stressed the need for early-warning systems in “a warming Himalaya”.
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