Rescue workers continued searching Thursday for hundreds of people missing along the Nepal-China border after a massive torrent of water and mud swept through several communities following a glacier collapse a day earlier.
At least 353 people have died and more than 1,300 remain missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals and pilgrims, authorities said. Hundreds of others have been displaced across the Himalayan region.
Video footage showed people trying to escape as floodwaters engulfed them and destroyed buildings and bridges.
The mountainous terrain and lush valleys of the Himalayas are particularly vulnerable to floods and landslides. Scientists say rising temperatures linked to human-induced climate change are accelerating glacier melt in the region.
In Nepal's worst-hit Nuwakot district, thick mud covered what appeared to be the upper floors of buildings. Vehicles were buried, while debris was left hanging from trees and power lines. Some survivors were found covered in mud.
Nirajan Paudyal, a Kathmandu-based journalist, said he was deeply worried about his parents and relatives in the small village of Soley.
“There is no update till now. I fear there won’t be any update,” he said.
Helicopters deployed as roads, bridges damaged
Authorities said the disaster killed at least 270 people and left 826 missing in Nepal, while three people died and 558 remained missing in Tibet, an autonomous region of China.
Dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly 40 kilometres (25 miles) of roads damaged in Nepal, making rescue operations more difficult.
Nepal Army helicopters rescued more than 100 people from flood-affected areas, said army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet. Army teams also evacuated people trapped at facilities associated with the Trishuli hydropower project.
Dozens of injured people were taken to Kathmandu for specialised treatment, while rescuers recovered bodies hundreds of kilometres downstream in Chitwan district.
Bishal Kumar Bhandari, chairman of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said the focus had shifted from rescue operations to large-scale relief efforts in affected districts. Around 1,200 people had been displaced from at least three villages, he said.
In Tibet, a mudslide near the Gyirong Port border crossing left the surrounding area covered in mud averaging more than 1.5 metres (5 feet) deep, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Roads leading to the crossing were damaged, and authorities warned that further landslides or collapses could occur as rain continued.
China deployed a military transport aircraft carrying a rescue team to the region, while Premier Li Qiang travelled to Gyirong on Thursday to oversee rescue operations.
Chinese authorities also warned that a barrier lake formed at the confluence of the Tsogyal and Purupqiangzangbu rivers was overflowing and could burst.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that he had authorised the release of $2 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support medical care, shelter and water supplies. He described the floods as “horrifying.”
Hundreds of foreigners among the missing
Families continued to wait anxiously for information about missing relatives.
Shova Shrestha, 33, said she had been waiting for more than a day for news about her husband, Rajan Shrestha. His phone initially rang when she called after the floods but later became unreachable.
She said she had been watching every helicopter arriving in Bidur, the Nuwakot district headquarters, hoping her husband would be among those rescued.
“I keep looking at each helicopter, hoping he will step out of it,” she said.
Nepal's Tourism Board said 517 foreigners were among those missing.
They include 178 Indians, more than 60 US citizens and others from around 30 countries, including Ukraine, Britain, South Africa and Japan.
Many of those missing may have been travelling to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred destination for Hindus, Buddhists and followers of other faiths.
Indian spiritual leader and Isha Foundation head Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said in a post on X that 77 members of one pilgrimage group were caught in the floods at an immigration office on the Nepal-China border.
In an emotional video, he said the group included 22 US citizens and people from several other countries. He said there was still no official information about their whereabouts.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said nearly 100 Chinese citizens were missing in Nepal. He added that preliminary information indicated that 260 of those missing in Tibet were foreigners.
Experts link floods to glacier collapse
The US Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday about 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of Kathmandu near the border.
The agency later revised its assessment, saying the seismic event was actually a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse that sent debris downstream.
Experts from the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche originating from a glacier was likely responsible for the flash flood.
They said water levels at one point on the Trishuli River rose by as much as 9 metres (27 feet) within 30 minutes.
Experts warn that the latest disaster highlights the growing threat posed by instability in the Himalayan ice system to communities, infrastructure and water supplies across one of the world's most densely populated regions.
The region experienced a similar disaster in August 2025 when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed amid high temperatures. Nine people were killed and key infrastructure, including a bridge linking Nepal and China, was damaged.