Flash flood kills eight in Nepal as rescue efforts continue near Tibet border

Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal deployed helicopters on Wednesday after a massive flash flood swept away villages in the Himalayan nation, killing eight people and damaging roads, bridges and power projects near the border with Tibet.

Authorities said helicopters could not land in the affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous Rasuwa district because water levels remained too high.

Rescue operation and damage

Rasuwa district has a population of about 50,000. District administrator Narendra Pariyar said there could be heavy casualties and property losses, though he could not confirm the full scale of the damage.

Pariyar urged residents living along the Bhote Koshi river to move to higher ground after reports that nearby villages and infrastructure project sites had been washed away.

A witness quoted by the Onlinekhabar portal said the flooding occurred suddenly, with people hearing a loud noise and running away.

Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said rescue helicopters would be unable to land until water levels receded.

Cause and cross-border impact

The cause of the inundation was not immediately clear. A deadly flash flood on the same river last year was later traced to the draining of a glacier lake.

Across the border, Tibet reported major casualties and missing people in Gyirong county after a mudslide struck a land crossing between China and Nepal, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The mudslide on the Nepali side affected China’s Gyirong port, cutting off roads, communications and power in the Shigatse region near the Nepal border, Xinhua said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out search efforts for missing people and stronger monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.