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Dozens of US and Canadian citizens missing after flash flooding in Nepal
Confirmed
More than 400 travellers are said to be missing after flood on Tibet border, including 33 Britons Flash floods on Nepal-Tibet border – latest updates More than 400 travellers are said to be missing after flood on Tibet border, including 33 Britons Flash floods on Nepal-Tibet border – latest updates Thirty-three British citizens including a 13-year-old girl are among more than 400 travellers missing after a flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border, according to Nepal’s tourism board.
South Korean government officials said nine citizens working on building a hydropower plant in Nepal were among those reported missing. Russia'a embassy in Nepal said four citizens reportedly in the affected area were missing.
Flash flood on Nepal-Tibet border kills more than 150, with hundreds of tourists missing State media in China, which controls Tibet, reported three dead and 265 missing there. A further 24 Canadians are also missing, a Nepal Tourist Board spokesperson said.
Houses, roads and energy infrastructure were destroyed in Nepal, while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties”, with some people missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a border land crossing.
Officials in Nepal said 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals, were reported missing. A wall of mud and rock appeared to have collapsed into the river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and Tibet, triggering catastrophic flooding on the Nepali side, Reuters reported.
Adhikari said the tour group, who were on a nine-day tour to Mount Kailash, were crossing into Tibet from Nepal when they became trapped at the border as the flash floods struck. Earlier on Wednesday, the tour operator Alpine Eco Trek said a 13-year-old girl was among the missing British nationals, as well as two Irish citizens.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported at least three dead and 265 missing in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the border. The tourist board said more than 100 of the missing people were yet to have a nationality confirmed.
Sunil Sharma, a tourism board spokesman, said 133 of those missing were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet – a sacred site for Hindus. “The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.
What's confirmed
- A further 24 Canadians are also missing, a Nepal Tourist Board spokesperson said.
- Flash flood on Nepal-Tibet border kills more than 150, with hundreds of tourists missing State media in China, which controls Tibet, reported three dead and 265 missing there.
- In an update on Wednesday evening, Nepal police said 157 bodies had been recovered and more than 40 people were injured and receiving treatment in hospital.
- China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported at least three dead and 265 missing in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the border.
- The same region saw flash floods last year Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday's flash flood.
- “Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and magnitude of the flood wave,” they said in an emailed statement, noting that water levels at one point on the Trishuli river rose by as much as nine…
- The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, had maximum flooding, they said.
- “The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a…
What's still developing
- The US State Department said it was aware that Americans were impacted by Wednesday's floods but did not provide numbers.
- It added that the US embassy in Nepal is working closely with local tour agencies and authorities to assist affected Americans, a spokesperson said.
- Canada's foreign office said it was also monitoring developments and was ready to provide assistance if needed.
- But the US Geological Survey, which studies earthquakes, has now said that further analysis indicates "that the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide" by itself.
- The US Embassy in Nepal said it remained in close contact with Nepali authorities.
- "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and devastation caused by the Bhote Koshi flood that struck Rasuwa district and communities downstream," it said in a statement posted on social media.
- "I urge everyone to remain vigilant and actively engage in necessary coordination and cooperation in the lower coastal areas," he said.
- Officials issued warnings to residents of several of Nepal’s districts and asked them to stay away from the banks of rivers Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged…