Rescue teams and military helicopters searched on Thursday for hundreds of people missing along the Nepal-China border after a torrent of water and mud swept through communities following a suspected glacier collapse.
More than 360 people have been killed and more than 1,400 remain missing in Nepal and Tibet, according to authorities. Hundreds more have been displaced across the Himalayan region.
The disaster struck on Wednesday when floodwaters and debris several stories high surged through communities, destroying buildings, bridges and roads. Videos showed people fleeing as the torrent swept through populated areas.
The steep valleys and slopes beneath the Himalayas are particularly vulnerable to floods and landslides. Scientists have warned that rising temperatures linked to human-caused climate change are contributing to increasingly unstable glaciers and greater flood risks.
In Nepal’s hard-hit Nuwakot district, mud covered roads, riverbanks and buildings. Vehicles were buried, while debris became tangled in trees and power lines.
Helicopters deployed as roads are damaged
At least 910 people are missing in Nepal, while authorities in Tibet, an autonomous region of China, reported three deaths and 558 people missing.
Nepalese officials said dozens of bridges had been destroyed and nearly 40 kilometres of roads damaged, making rescue operations more difficult.
The Nepalese army said it had rescued more than 100 people by helicopter and evacuated people trapped at facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project.
Dozens of injured people were taken to Kathmandu for treatment, while rescuers found bodies in Chitwan district, hundreds of kilometres downstream from the worst-hit areas.
Bishal Kumar Bhandari, chairman of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said the agency had shifted its focus from rescue operations to large-scale relief efforts. About 1,200 people were displaced from at least three villages, he said.
In Tibet, a mudslide near the Gyirong Port border crossing engulfed a multi-storey port building, with mud reportedly reaching more than 1.5 metres deep in surrounding areas, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Roads leading to the crossing were damaged, while authorities warned that further landslides could occur as rain continued.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Gyirong on Thursday to oversee rescue operations, alongside about 500 military and paramilitary personnel. Military helicopters searched for survivors and assessed possible evacuation routes.
Chinese authorities also warned that a newly formed lake at the confluence of the Tsogyal and Purupqiangzangbu rivers was overflowing and could burst.
The United Nations announced $2 million in emergency funding for medical care, shelter and water. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described the floods as “horrifying”.
“We pledge to support national efforts to deliver emergency aid and support,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters.
Hundreds of foreigners among the missing
Families and friends continued to wait for news of loved ones as rescue teams searched the disaster zone.
Shova Shrestha, 33, said she had spent more than a day trying to find her husband, Rajan Shrestha. His phone initially rang when she called after the floods but later became unreachable.
“I keep looking at each helicopter, hoping he will step out of it,” Shova said.
Nepal’s tourism board said 517 foreigners were among those missing. They included 178 Indians, more than 60 Americans and people from 30 other countries, including Ukraine, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Japan.
Many of the missing are believed to have been travelling to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred pilgrimage site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.
Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said 77 people from one pilgrimage group were caught in the floods at the border immigration office. He said the group included 22 Americans and people from several other countries, but there was no official information on their whereabouts.
The US State Department said 90 Americans were unaccounted for in China and Nepal. It said it was unaware of any American deaths and that three Americans had been rescued.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said 288 Indians, including some workers on a power project, were missing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said nearly 100 Chinese citizens were missing in Nepal. He also said preliminary information indicated that 260 of those missing in Tibet were foreigners.
Glacier collapse suspected
The US Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday about 65 kilometres north of Kathmandu near the border.
The agency later updated its analysis, saying the seismic event was a magnitude 5.2 event associated with a glacier collapse that sent debris downstream.
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely triggered the flash flood.
Water levels on the Trishuli River rose by as much as nine metres in half an hour, the experts said.
The disaster has renewed concerns over the growing risks posed by unstable glaciers and changing conditions in the Himalayas, where communities, infrastructure and water supplies are increasingly exposed to floods and landslides.
A similar disaster struck the region in August 2025 when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed amid high temperatures. Nine people were killed and critical infrastructure, including a bridge linking Nepal and China, was damaged.
