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Nepal-Tibet flood: Death toll surges to 362; Nearly 1,500 remain missing
Sanjeev Kumar | August 28, 2026 10:22 AM CST

Kathamandu/New Delhi: he death toll from the massive Nepal-Tibet flash floods rose to 362 on Thursday, including 359 in Nepal and three in neighbouring Tibet, as rescuers launched a desperate race against time to trace hundreds still missing, including 290 Indian nationals.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated in New Delhi on Thursday that nearly 200 others were reported safe but remained stranded in Tibet.

Nepal has conveyed to India that at least 21 tourists from Tamil Nadu were rescued from the flash-flood-hit region in northern Nepal.

Besides, 63 other Indians, who were engaged in the construction of the Trishuli-I hydropower plant at Rasuwa in northern Nepal, were also rescued.

An ice-rock avalanche triggered by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a torrent of water, mud and debris downstream through central Nepal on Wednesday, devastating towns and villages, washing away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, and damaging hydropower projects.

Nepal authorities reported 910 people missing, as rescuers searched river corridors clogged by mud and debris and families crowded hospitals in a desperate hunt for loved ones.

The disaster also left 558 people missing in Tibet, officials said, taking the number of people reported missing on the two sides of the border to 1,468.

A C17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force carried a second tranche of 37.5 tones humanitarian aid and disaster relief materials to Kathmandu on Thursday. Earlier, India had sent 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid and disaster relief materials to the neighbouring country aboard the IAF's C130J transport aircraft.

"India remains in close and continuous touch with the Nepalese authorities. We will continue to strongly support the ongoing relief efforts," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.

He reviewed India's response to the disaster in Nepal in a meeting with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other senior officials of the MEA.

The 290 Indians, who remained uncontactable, included 73, who were working on the Trishuli-I power project.

The Embassy of India in Kathmandu is in touch with the project head of the hydropower plant to get more details about the workers from India, Randhir Jaiswal, the additional secretary and the spokesperson of the MEA, told journalists in New Delhi on Thursday.

The missing Indians also include two separate groups of 37 and 49 pilgrims who were on their way from Tamil Nadu to Kailash Manasarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Besides, a separate group of 32 Indians from West Bengal were also missing, just like another group of 61 Indians from some other states, including a group of 33 from Kerala, said Jaiswal.

The 200 Indians stranded in Tibet included 95, who were in Garchan and were proceeding to cross over into Nepal, while four are in Geelong, and 13 are in Zutulpuk, he said, said Jaiswal.

Nepalese security personnel have so far evacuated more than 800 people from affected districts, while helicopters, drones and ground teams continue to search isolated settlements, riverbanks and downstream areas.

A preliminary assessment by Nepalese authorities and a revised analysis by the US Geological Survey (USGS) have identified a glacial collapse and debris flow, rather than an earthquake, as the trigger for the disaster.

The ice-rock avalanche struck the Lhende River, temporarily blocking its flow before the natural barrier gave way and unleashed a massive surge downstream into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river system.

Officials rescued 27 foreign tourists stranded in Rasuwa on Thursday, including 11 Indians, four South Koreans, two Italians and two US citizens. The nationalities of the remaining eight had not been confirmed by the Nepal Tourism Board. They were airlifted to Kathmandu by the Nepal Army.


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