A wall of water and mud crashed through a popular trekking and pilgrimage region in Nepal and across the border into Tibet, killing at least 100 people and leaving hundreds more missing, officials said Monday.
The devastating flash floods and mudslides swept away buildings, roads and bridges in the mountainous region. Among the missing are more than 100 tourists from India, 54 from the United States, 33 from the United Kingdom and over 100 Nepali nationals, according to the Nepal Tourist Board.
“My family was swept away in front of me,” a woman told local media, saying she and her son survived by climbing to a rooftop. She was not named.
The disaster struck an area frequented by trekkers and pilgrims. Dozens of police officers, army personnel and power workers also were unaccounted for, officials said.
In Tibet, Chinese state media reported three dead and 265 missing. China Central Television aired footage showing a torrent of water and debris slamming into buildings at a border crossing.
Authorities initially suspected an earthquake may have triggered a landslide, but the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday that “seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide.”
Nepal police said multiple teams, including a canine unit and four drones, had been deployed to the flood-affected area to search for survivors, distribute relief and document deaths. According to a police statement, 28 officers in the Rasuwa district remained missing.
Authorities urged the public not to approach riverbanks, flood zones or other dangerous areas and to follow instructions from the government and security agencies.
