95 killed in floods: Video captures Nepal-Tibet flood horror in seconds

Dubai: At least 95 people have died and nearly 400 travellers are reported missing after devastating flash floods swept through Nepal’s Himalayan border region with Tibet on Wednesday, destroying villages, roads and infrastructure and triggering a major rescue operation.

Among those unaccounted for are 105 Indian tourists and 37 NRIs, according to preliminary figures from the Nepal Tourism Board.

Dramatic CCTV footage from Gyirong Port in Tibet captured the speed and force of the disaster as a huge torrent of muddy water, rocks and debris surged through the border area before the floodwaters swept downstream into Nepal’s Rasuwa district.

The footage shows people scrambling to escape as the torrent rapidly inundates a parking area, sweeping away vehicles and throwing up a thick cloud of dust and mist.

Within seconds, the border facility is engulfed.

The floodwaters surged through the Bhote Koshi River at around 9am local time, affecting Rasuwa and Dhading districts near the Tibet border as well as Nuwakot, southwest of Kathmandu, officials said.

384 travellers reported missing

The Nepal Tourism Board said preliminary records showed 384 travellers unaccounted for in flood-affected areas.

They include 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepalis.

Among the foreigners are 105 Indians and 37 NRIs, as well as travellers from the United States, Britain, Malaysia, South Africa, Australia and the Netherlands.

At least 59 of the Indians were travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, according to Samrat Tours and Travel.

Authorities have stressed that the missing-person figures are preliminary as officials, travel agencies and security forces try to establish the whereabouts of people caught in areas where communications and road links have been disrupted.

The disaster has caused widespread damage across the mountainous region, with roads and other critical infrastructure hit and some communities difficult to reach.

The Nepal Army has deployed helicopters and disaster-response personnel as search and rescue operations continue.

“We do not exactly know the extent of damage, but the flood is big, and it could have damaged many settlements,” Nepal Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle told AFP.

Authorities have warned residents living close to rivers to move to safer areas.

“We have alerted people who are staying near the riverside to relocate... and deployed all our resources,” Kafle said.

The disaster has again highlighted the vulnerability of the Himalayan region to sudden floods and landslides.

Monsoon rains between June and September regularly trigger deadly disasters across Nepal and other parts of South Asia, where steep terrain can turn swollen mountain rivers into destructive torrents.

The Nepal-Tibet border region has been hit before. In July last year, 17 people were reported missing after a mudslide near Gyirong Port.

This time, the scale of the disaster is still emerging, with rescuers searching devastated areas and authorities trying to establish the fate of hundreds of travellers.

For families in India and elsewhere, the immediate concern is whether those listed as missing are stranded and out of contact — or were caught in the floodwaters that swept through the border region within minutes.