Catastrophic flood along the Himalayan border between Nepal and Tibet has claimed at least 157 lives and left hundreds more missing, following a massive collapse of mud and rock into a local river. The sudden deluge devastated communities on the Nepali side while severely impacting the border region of Gyirong county in Tibet.
Emergency teams continue to search for survivors as infrastructure damage complicates rescue operations across the region. Hundreds of tourists, including over 100 Indian nationals, remain unaccounted for following the surge of debris and water.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV maintained that the number of missing individuals in Tibet’s Gyirong county reached 558 after the hillside failed on Wednesday.
Survivors described the sudden onset of the disaster as the wall of earth crashed into the river channel.
“It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us. As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife’s hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud,” stated Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor receiving treatment at a local medical facility.
Authority reports indicate widespread destruction across the affected valley, with residential homes, major road links, and power projects swept away. Verified video footage captured the moment the torrent overtook border points, carrying away individuals before emergency workers could intervene. Officials on both sides of the frontier declared that casualty figures may rise further as search efforts access remote areas.
