The number of people missing after devastating flash floods along the Bhotekoshi River in Nepal and China’s Tibet region has risen to around 1,384, including nearly 800 foreign nationals, according to officials from both countries.
The floods struck Nepal’s northern border district of Rasuwa and Tibet’s Gyirong County after the Bhotekoshi River surged suddenly.
Nepali officials said 826 people are missing in the country, with the tourism department confirming that around 500 of them are foreign nationals. Among the missing foreigners are 177 Indians, 63 Americans, 34 Australians, 33 Britons and 25 Canadians, along with citizens of more than two dozen other countries.
At least 165 bodies have been recovered in Nepal from massive deposits of mud, rocks and debris left by the floods. Rescue officials warned that the death toll could rise as search operations continue.
“We expect this number to rise as we have resumed the search and are likely to recover more bodies,” police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told Reuters.
Meanwhile, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that 558 people are missing in Tibet, including 260 foreign nationals. Three bodies have reportedly been recovered from the debris in the region.
All of those missing in Tibet are from Gyirong County, which bore the brunt of the flash flood as the Bhotekoshi River surged through the area.
Verified videos showed powerful floodwaters and debris sweeping away dozens of people at a border crossing in Gyirong. Downstream in Nepal, homes, roads and hydropower facilities were also destroyed or washed away.
Among those caught in the disaster was 68-year-old Keshav Prasad Baral, who survived after being rescued by helicopter but lost his wife.
Baral told Reuters that he saw a huge wave of mud rushing toward his home. He tried to take his wife to the roof, but she was swept away by the muddy torrent.
A helicopter rescued Baral from the roof about four hours later.
“My wife is still somewhere under the mud. I could not save her,” he told Reuters.
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