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Experts zero in on likely cause of deadly Nepal mudslide, with more than 1,400 missing
Confirmed
TERRIFYING VIDEO CAPTURES PEOPLE FLEEING INCOMING MUDSLIDE AT NEPAL-CHINA BORDER Earthmovers clear the debris of flash flooding in Nepal's Nuwakot district, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) The death toll has climbed to more than 360 people estimated to have been killed in the floods along the Nepal-China border, the AP reported, citing local police.
Chinese government geologist Guo Zhaocheng said the ice-avalanche debris flow that caused the mudslide travelled at about 50 metres per second, leaving people little time to react, and extended for more than 20 km (12 miles), causing severe losses.
Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said the focus remained on finding survivors as rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region around Trishuli. Chinese authorities have identified risks from a still-dammed lake in Gyirong, upstream from the mudslide and flood-stricken Tibet-Nepal border crossing that could complicate rescue efforts, particularly as rains are forecast, CCTV said.
Guo said a high-altitude ice avalanche triggered the debris flow, which picked up glacial moraine as it moved down a channel before becoming a mudslide that struck port facilities and areas on both sides of the China-Nepal border.
"I am saddened to learn of the devastating floods in the Rasuwa region of Nepal and Kyirong in Tibet, resulting in loss of life and heavy structural damage," the 91-year-old leader said in a statement. China is in close communication with Nepal on search and rescue efforts, with nearly 100 Chinese nationals in the affected area across the border in Nepal, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
In the hardest-hit districts, helicopters were dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India, said Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal’s army. Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah left by road to assess the flood situation in one of the worst affected districts of Nuwakot, his office said on social media.
The tally of missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county was 558, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday, including 260 foreign nationals. The disaster is a major challenge for Shah’s five-month-old government but officials said the country had systems and officials who have experience in handling such tragedies, including the 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people.
"Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and magnitude of the flood wave," they said in a statement, adding that at one point, the water levels on the Trishuli River rose by as much as 27 feet in just a half hour.
What's confirmed
- TERRIFYING VIDEO CAPTURES PEOPLE FLEEING INCOMING MUDSLIDE AT NEPAL-CHINA BORDER Earthmovers clear the debris of flash flooding in Nepal's Nuwakot district, Thursday, Aug.
- Chinese government geologist Guo Zhaocheng said the ice-avalanche debris flow that caused the mudslide travelled at about 50 metres per second, leaving people little time to react, and extended for more than 20 km (12 mi
- Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said the focus remained on finding survivors as rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region around Trishuli.
- Guo said a high-altitude ice avalanche triggered the debris flow, which picked up glacial moraine as it moved down a channel before becoming a mudslide that struck port facilities and areas on both sides of the China-Nep
- "I am saddened to learn of the devastating floods in the Rasuwa region of Nepal and Kyirong in Tibet, resulting in loss of life and heavy structural damage," the 91-year-old leader said in a statement.
- In the hardest-hit districts, helicopters were dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India, said Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal’s army.
What's still developing
- "Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and magnitude of the flood wave," they said in a statement, adding that at one point, the water levels on the Trishuli River rose by as much as 27 feet in…
- TERRIFYING VIDEO CAPTURES PEOPLE FLEEING INCOMING MUDSLIDE AT NEPAL-CHINA BORDER Earthmovers clear the debris of flash flooding in Nepal's Nuwakot district, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) The…
- "The State Department is closely monitoring the situation and has deployed a disaster response advisor to the region to support response efforts," the spokesperson said.
- He said that around 1,200 people were displaced from at least three villages.
- "I am saddened to learn of the devastating floods in the Rasuwa region of Nepal and Kyirong in Tibet, resulting in loss of life and heavy structural damage," the 91-year-old leader said in a statement.
- Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said the focus remained on finding survivors as rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region around Trishuli.
- The Red Cross said that entire villages had been destroyed and impassable roads and bridges had left communities cut off.
- “It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us,” said Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor being treated in a Nepali hospital.