en.malanginspirasi.com – At least 31 people have been killed and hundreds of tourists remain missing after a massive flash flood and mudslide struck the Nepal-Tibet border.
The disaster hit early on Wednesday in the Rasuwa district of Nepal, just north of Kathmandu, and extended across the border into China’s Tibet region.
A wall of water, mud and debris surged through the area, washing away villages, roads, bridges and infrastructure.
Verified CCTV footage from the Tibetan side shows a sudden torrent of water and mud slamming into buildings at a border crossing, while other images from Nepal capture people desperately fleeing as floodwaters rise.
Nepal’s tourism board reports that the missing include more than 100 travellers from India and 12 from the UK, along with others from countries such as Malaysia, the United States, South Africa, Australia and the Netherlands.
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In total, nearly 400 people, many of them tourists and guides, are unaccounted for, with search and rescue operations continuing on both sides of the border.
Dozens have been injured, and at least 88 people have been rescued so far by Nepalese forces.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued personal directives on the response in Tibet, a step that typically signals the gravity of an incident, according to BBC correspondent Laura Bicker in Beijing.
Chinese state media have reported major casualties and missing people at the Gyirong (Kyirong) border port after the mudslide struck.
Nepal’s foreign minister has said preliminary information points to an earthquake that triggered an avalanche, sending melted snow and debris into the Bhote Koshi (or Lhende Khola) river system that flows from Tibet into Nepal.
The sudden surge overwhelmed downstream areas, damaging hydropower projects and disrupting power, communications and the main road toward Kathmandu. Downstream communities remain on high alert.
BBC correspondent Phanindra Dahal in Kathmandu reports that this is the most devastating disaster to hit Nepal since the 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people.
Authorities on both sides of the border continue rescue efforts amid difficult terrain and ongoing risks of further flooding.
