At least 95 dead in Nepal flooding, hundreds missing
Flooding in Nepal's mountainous Rasuwa district near the Chinese border has killed at least 95 people, with hundreds more, including many foreigners, still missing. The cause of the disaster remains unclear.
Police in Nepal's central Bagmati province announced on Wednesday, August 26, that flooding in the mountainous Rasuwa district near the Chinese border has killed at least 95 people.
Earlier reports said 384 people, including 290 foreigners, were missing. Nepal's Ministry of Tourism separately reported 341 foreign nationals unaccounted for as a result of the flood. According to police, those missing in the region bordering Tibet include 26 police officers. Final figures on the dead, injured and the extent of damage are expected later.
Possible cause
The cause of the flooding remains unclear. Officials have not ruled out that the disaster may have been triggered by a glacial lake outburst. The flooding resulted from rising water levels in the Bhote Koshi River, which originates in Tibet and flows through Nepal's Bagmati province.
Settlements along the river were hit hardest, particularly Timure and Syabrubesi. Floodwaters submerged market areas and residential neighborhoods, caused serious damage to police stations and hydropower facilities, and destroyed bridges and roads.
Rescue efforts
Search and rescue operations were still under way as of the latest reports. A regional Red Cross branch said it had dispatched an emergency team with humanitarian supplies to the Rasuwa district. Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah announced that the army and national security services would join the rescue operation.
China's state news agency Xinhua reported that a landslide that occurred in Nepal on the morning of August 26 caused a large number of deaths, injuries and missing persons at the Gyirong border checkpoint in Gyirong county in southwestern China.
