The death toll from sudden flash floods in northern Nepal's mountainous rivers has risen to 538, according to local media citing local police. Many people remain missing since the incident, and rescue teams are conducting extensive search operations along the river's course and downstream areas. A significant number of the missing are domestic and foreign tourists.
On Wednesday morning, a sudden rush of intense water and debris surged down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers in Rasuwa and neighboring districts of Nepal. The force of this mountain torrent completely obliterated numerous homes, paved roads, bridges, and other communication infrastructure, leaving several remote areas completely cut off. The verification of casualty and missing persons data from various districts is still ongoing. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, at least 667 tourists and travelers are missing in the disaster-affected regions, including 127 Nepali citizens.
The Tourism Board has confirmed that 31 foreign nationals have been rescued alive so far from the affected areas. Among those rescued are four South Koreans, two Americans, two Russians, two Italians, one Indian, one Bulgarian, and one Swiss citizen. Efforts are underway to confirm the nationality of the remaining 18. The Ministry of Tourism, Tourist Police, and local trekking agencies are working jointly to locate and rescue the missing tourists.
To control the situation, the Nepalese Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force are engaged in joint rescue operations. As road communication has been disrupted, stranded people are being evacuated by helicopters. At the same time, various teams are searching for survivors or bodies along the riverbanks and downstream areas.
The reason behind such a sudden and devastating surge of water in this Himalayan foothill region without any prior warning is still under investigation. Due to this sudden surge, residents living in vulnerable communities along the river basin did not even get the slightest opportunity to move to safety.
