A Tibet-origin flash flood tore through central Nepal, killing 72 and leaving hundreds missing. Rescuers are racing against time as river risks persist and roads, bridges and power projects lie shattered.
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Kathmandu,UPDATED: Aug 26, 2026 20:13 IST
At least 72 people were killed and nearly 500 were missing, including 133 Indians, after a torrential flash flood originating in Tibet tore through parts of central Nepal on Wednesday. The deluge devastated towns and villages, washed away bridges and damaged at least a dozen hydropower projects.
Officials said the flood hit around 9 am local time and moved through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems, affecting several districts. Preliminary satellite-based studies said the flash flood was caused by an ice avalanche triggered by an unstable mountain rock mass near the Nepal-Tibet border. Rescue and relief operations were under way, but authorities warned that the risk had not yet eased.
The flood first struck Rasuwa and Dhading districts on the Tibet border and later spread to Nuwakot and Chitwan, damaging at least four permanent bridges and a few temporary ones. Rasuwa, near the Tibet border, is about 125 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the massive flood entered the Trishuli river through the Bhote Koshi at Timure after a rockslide and swelling in the Lhende river on the Nepal-Tibet border. The Kathmandu Post quoted climate researcher Rijan Bhakta Kayastha as saying an earthquake had also occurred on the Tibetan side around the same time. The newspaper, citing the US Geological Survey, said a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Tibetan territory at 8:37 am, about 47 kilometres north of Gosainkunda.
Quoting the NDRRMA, the Kathmandu Post reported that 72 bodies had been recovered across seven districts by Wednesday evening: one in Rasuwa, 11 in Nuwakot, 18 in Dhading, 28 in Chitwan, nine in Gorkha, four in Tanahu and one in Nawalparasi East. Rajendra Prasad Dhamala, spokesperson at the Bagmati Province Police Office, said 93 people had been rescued from different affected areas. Of them, 30 were undergoing treatment at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told the House of Representatives that nearly 400 people were missing, including 133 Indians and 37 NRIs. He also said 80 security personnel, including 44 Nepal Army personnel, were missing fro