Flash flood on Nepal-Tibet border kills 19, 384 missing including tourists
A flash flood triggered by a wall of mud and rock collapsing into a Himalayan river along the Nepal-Tibet border killed at least 19 people and left 384 missing, including 291 foreign tourists, authorities said on…
Source: Channel NewsAsia · August 26, 2026 at 12:31 PM · AI-assisted report
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NEPAL-TIBET BORDER, KATHMANDU, NUWAKOT DISTRICT, 26 AUGUST 2026 —
A flash flood triggered by a wall of mud and rock collapsing into a Himalayan river along the Nepal-Tibet border killed at least 19 people and left 384 missing, including 291 foreign tourists, authorities said on Wednesday.
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Nepal’s Tourism Board said preliminary records showed 384 travellers — 291 foreigners and 93 Nepalis — were reported missing from the affected areas, with authorities still verifying their whereabouts. The foreign tourists were from India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, officials said. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency separately reported about eight of its nationals were also unaccounted for.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told parliament that an earthquake in the area could have triggered an avalanche and caused the flood, according to local media reports. Nineteen bodies had been recovered so far, while many police officers were also out of contact, Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said.
The Nepal Army deployed helicopters and disaster response personnel to the affected area, where floodwaters surged through a river and swept away houses. “I witnessed the flood sweep away eight or nine trucks, along with houses and people,” said Suman Chalise, a 34-year-old teacher in Nuwakot district. “I had not witnessed such devastation before.”
The Nepal Electricity Authority said about 430 megawatts of production capacity, including from hydropower and solar facilities, had been damaged. “The disaster has damaged the production, transmission and distribution facilities ... resulting in disruption of electricity supply,” it said.
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