Anxious relatives crowded the corridors of a Kathmandu hospital as they searched for missing family after devastating floods on the Nepal-Tibet border killed at least 180 people.

Among them was Subash Khatani, scanning lists and speaking to officials in the hope of finding news of his elder brother, one of the hundreds unaccounted for after the disaster.

“My elder brother Ram Sharan Rasaili is among those missing in Rasuwa. That’s why we are out searching for him,” Khatani told AFP at the Government-run Bir hospital in the capital.

On Wednesday, a tsunami-like wall of water and mud swept through villages and towns along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, with Nepali police saying they had recovered 177 bodies.

Rasuwa in northern Nepal was the first district hit. But deaths were reported in seven districts as floodwaters surged more than 160km south to Chitwan, near the Indian border.

The cause of the disaster was not immediately clear, but the US Geological Survey said it was a glacial collapse that caused seismic activity and the “catastrophic” downstream impacts in Nepal and Tibet.

Chitra Bahadur Nepali was looking for his nephew Yubraj Sewak, a driver who had been travelling towards the worst-affected Rasuwa district before contact was lost.

“My nephew was on his way to Rasuwa and was in contact with my sister until about 8am yesterday,” Nepali, 52, said, showing his photograph on his phone.

“We have not heard from him since the flood. His name is not on any of the lists we have seen, and another member of our family is also missing.”

As rescue teams scoured for survivors in the flood-ravaged districts, families moved between hospitals and police helpdesks, desperately hoping for word on those missing.

The Bir hospital said it would treat all victims for free and was “fully prepared” to handle the surge in patients, local media reported.

In Nepal, 823 people – including 579 tourists from Nepal and abroad – remained out of contact, according to the country’s disaster agency.

In Tibet, Chinese state media said that the “mudslide disaster” had killed three people, while 558 people, including 260 foreigners, were missing.

– AFP

Nearly 100 Chinese nationals are missing in Nepal after massive flooding at the border region, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“In the disaster-stricken area on the Nepalese side, the number of Chinese citizens missing is nearly 100,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters, adding that China’s embassy in Nepal was “seeking further verification” from Nepalese authorities.

Chinese authorities said earlier Thursday that 558 people, including 260 foreigners, were missing on the Tibet-Nepal border.

 – AFP

The son of Sir Edmund Hillary described the flash flood as “catastrophic” in an interview with The Panel.

Peter Hillary was the chairman of the humanitarian organisation The Himalayan Trust and was the son of the famed mountaineer.

Peter Hillary said the mountainous areas of Nepal had a history of glacial outburst floods .

“Because of the great altitude that it originated from, probably 4500m, and then descending very rapidly down a gorge, these things tend to be absolutely catastrophic and that's of course what we’ve seen,” he said.

Hillary said a similar disaster wiped out a school his father helped develop in the 1960s.

The Himalayan Trust is fundraising in a bid to support the Nepalese Government’s emergency fund.

 – RNZ

Nepal's Tourism Board said 517 foreigners remained out of contact on Thursday, more than 24 hours after a deadly flood tore through the border region with Tibet.

Overall, in Nepal and China, more than 1300 people are missing, and 180 are dead.

Among the missing are 178 from India, 65 from the United States, 53 from Ukraine, 51 from Malaysia, 35 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.

In addition, there are nine from Singapore, eight from Germany and eight from Russia.

The Nepal Tourism Board said authorities were working to “verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travellers” in the disaster areas.

Nepal’s police have given an overall missing figure of 823 people, and 177 dead.

In China, state media said the “mudslide disaster” at the Gyirong Port in Tibet killed three people, while 558 people, including 260 foreigners, are missing.

 – AFP

Scores of pilgrims from across the world are among the hundreds missing after deadly floods swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region, popular Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru said Thursday.

The Hindu guru, whose real name is Jagdish Vasudev, posted an emotional video message from Tibet on his social media accounts, with several million followers.

Some 77 pilgrims were at the Nepal-China border immigration office when the flood hit on Wednesday, he said in a post alongside a clip of surveillance video from the Chinese side of the frontier showing a wall of mud and debris crashing over the border building.

The pilgrims were part of several Hindu groups organised by Isha Foundation of Sadhguru who had been visiting the snow-capped Mount Kailash in Tibet, which is also sacred to Tibetan Buddhists.

“Literally, the entire group was there in the building, this is a terrible and extraordinary event,” he said, as anguished wails from other pilgrims with him are heard over the video.

“All phones are off, telecommunications are down, roads are blocked, we are unable to go there,” he said, tears in his eyes.

The tsunami-like rumble of water and mud was caused by a glacial collapse that sent a flow of debris engulfing the valley.

“We have no any official information... but looking at the scale of destruction, it looks bad,” Sadhguru said.

"The same building where we were for the immigration just a week ago, that entire building is washed away, and part of the town is washed away.”

The pilgrimage to Kailash and Lake Mansarovar is organised annually by India’s Foreign Ministry with Chinese authorities.

It restarted in 2025 for Indians for the first time since the 2020 clash.

 – AFP

Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said that he was praying for all those killed in devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet.

“I pray for all those who have lost their lives, and offer my sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved and to all those affected by this tragedy,” he said in a statement.

The charismatic 91-year-old, who lives in exile in India, is lauded worldwide for his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for his Tibetan homeland, which Beijing says is an integral part of China.

"Since this region has seen calamities in the past as well, these are certainly symptoms of a deeper underlying cause -- whether climate change or other factors," he added.

"I hope that appropriate follow-up measures will be taken, wherever possible, to help ensure that such disasters do not recur."

 – AFP

Nelson Mayor Dr Nick Smith has appealed to the community to support Nepalese residents and those affected by the devastating flash flooding.

With about 150 Nepalese residents, Smith said the disaster had a particular impact on Nelson, which is home to the largest migrant community from the region.

“Nelson has the largest Nepalese community in NZ, former refugees, who make a wonderful contribution to our city,” he said.

“They are grieving for lost ones in Nepal but also fundraising to help the many thousands impacted.”

Donations can be made to Nelson Nepalese Community Inc at bank account 06-0705-0600719-21.

More than 1300 people are missing after flash floods and landslides at the Nepal-Tibet border, AFP reports.

The country's disaster agency said 823 people, including 579 Nepali and foreign tourists, remained out of contact in Nepal. 

That is in addition to the 558 people, including 260 foreigners, reported missing across the border by Chinese state media after the "mudslide disaster" at the Gyirong Port in Tibet.