The death toll has jumped to 332 after a devastating flash flood on the Nepal–Tibet border, local police said, as 33 British citizens remain missing.
Nepali authorities said 258 bodies were recovered and 351 people rescued after floodwater swept along the Bhote Koshi river in Rasuwa region, in the Himalayas, around 8.30am local time on Wednesday, destroying roads and washing away houses and bridges.Over 900 people, the majority of them tourists, are missing, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.
Dozens of people were injured in the tragedy and are receiving treatment in hospital.
Nepal’s tourism board and tourist police said they were “working to verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travellers who were in or travelling through the affected areas”.
13- and 14-year-old among Britons missing
Thirty-three of those missing on the Nepal side are British citizens, including 13- and 14-year-olds.
Twelve of them were travelling with one tour company, Alpine Eco Trek. The group’s youngest member is a 13-year-old girl and the oldest aged 65, said manager Ram Kumar Adhikari.
Adhikari told the Times the group leader had remained online as normal until 8.40am as they passed Chinese border controls to enter Tibet, but videos of the disaster had raised fears for the tourists.
“There is no internet access on the Chinese side, so we had no reason to be immediately concerned,” he said. “Chinese authorities later released video showing a huge surge of water sweeping away the Chinese immigration building and bridges. You can see people running in the footage, and some of them could be members of our group.”
Another group was travelling with the Nepalese tour operator the Trekkers’ Society and had been making a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus.
Nine British nationals on one of its tours are among those unaccounted for – four males aged 14 to 65 and five females aged 40 to 53.
Sunil Sharma, a Nepali tourism board spokesman, said on Wednesday that 133 of those missing were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. Also among the missing Americans, Australians and Canadians, he added.
Houses lie partially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after the flash floods struck Trishuli Bazar (Photo: Prabin Ranabhat/AFP) Residents gather near mud covered buildings in Trishuli Bazar (Photo: Navesh Chitrikar/Reuters)Burnham offers £5m
The Nepali army has deployed 2,000 military personnel to assist with search and rescue operations.
The country’s prime minister, Balendra Shah, promised support for people affected by the disaster. “I want to assure you that you are not alone in this difficult time – the state is with you with all its means and resources,” he said Wednesday.
The UK has offered £5m to help the Nepalese government, with Andy Burnham pledging his Government will do “everything we can” to support British nationals in Nepal following the floods.
“These scenes emerging from along the Nepal-China border are devastating. My thoughts are with all those affected, including the families and loved ones of British nationals missing in this tragedy,” he said Thursday.
Shah’s office said on Wednesday that eight tonnes of relief materials had been sent to the affected areas, including 500 mosquito nets, 500 blankets, 500 solar lights, 500 solar panels and 220 sleeping bags.
More devastating footage out of Nepal today…The powerful flood swept away this entire bridge in seconds; the structural loss must have been immense.The Bhote Koshi River surged without warning near the Chinese border, taking roads, homes, and infrastructure along with…
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 26, 2026The Nepalese army said is continuing to save scores of survivors. Local authorities said those rescued were receiving treatment in nearby hospitals, included several children, with the youngest a baby aged three months.
Scenes of horror
Dramatic videos from the disaster area showed a bridge being destroyed and buildings collapse as the floodwaters struck, with residents fleeing in terror.
Photos showed diggers carrying survivors to safety. Local authorities said 15 helicopters were involved in search and rescue operations. Pilots were seen winching survivors down from the rooftops of destroyed homes.
Dozens of houses have been buried under mud and water, with residents wading through the flooded streets.
Survivors described scenes of horror. Kalpana Malla, from the Nepali district of Nuwakot, said she was powerless to save her father, mother, sister and sister’s children as the disaster struck.
“My family members were swept away by the flood in front of my eyes,” she told the BBC. “They could not escape the flood; there was no chance at all. This flood took everything, but my son and I climbed the rooftop of a house and survived but couldn’t explain how.”
Police officers carry a survivor in Trishuli (Photo: Navesh Chitrikar/Reuters) The Nepalese army said 114 survivors had been rescued so far (Photo: Getty)Nepali officials said they had called on neighbouring India and China to support its relief operations.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for an “all out” search for survivors and ordered emergency workers to join relief efforts in Tibet. Chinese state media reported “major casualties”.
Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, said his government was “ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal. Our teams are co-ordinating closely on rescue and relief efforts.”
Meanwhile, the United States committed just under £368,000 to provide shelter, water, sanitation, and other emergency supplies.
The British embassy in Kathmandu released a joint statement with the US, EU, Australia and several other countries stating: “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time.
“We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.”
‘Glacial collapse’
Nepal’s foreign minister, Shishir Khanal, said the disaster was caused by an earthquake that triggered landslides, resulting in the heavy floods.
But the US Geological Survey (USGS) said it had not found evidence of an earthquake, attributing the flood to a landslide.
“This event was initially reported as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake,” it said. “Additional analysis of long period seismic waves indicate that the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide.”
In a later update, the USGS said the landslide was triggered by a “glacial collapse” resulting in “catastrophic impacts downstream”.
Rescuers use a bulldozer to take a victim to safety (Photo: Niranjan Shrestha/AP) Mud covers buildings near the Nepal-Tibet border (Photo: Navesh Chitrikar/Reuters)Khanal said dozens of police officers and soldiers were missing, and the floods had caused severe damage to roads, communication and power infrastructure.
Authorities and scientists are working to determine whether the Trishuli River has been temporarily blocked in narrow sections, the report said.
Blockages could result in what is known as a “landslide dam”, which in turn would create the risk of further flooding.
International aid groups are mobilising to tackle the humanitarian crisis. Care Nepal’s country director, Mona Sherpa, said the group was “monitoring the situation and assessing the needs of affected communities”.
She added: “We are preparing to mobilise emergency relief, including shelter, hygiene and dignity kits, for affected families as needs are confirmed on the ground. The flooding has left affected families without homes, possessions and livelihoods, and has raised concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases due to damaged water and sanitation infrastructure.”
Nepal and Tibet have been blighted by natural disasters. Last year, floods in Nepal last year killed 44 people, and more than 200 died during monsoon rains in September 2024. Tibet suffered an earthquake that killed 95 people last January.
Professor David Simon, from the department of geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the region was becoming increasingly hazardous.
“Such disasters are, unfortunately, becoming increasingly common in the Himalayas because of the combined effects of human modifications of the fragile and hazardous environment and increasingly rapid climate and broader environmental change,” he said.
“This river alone has flooded three times in the last two years. Similar events on a smaller scale have occurred elsewhere in the Himalayas over recent years, as melting of ice sheets and glaciers triggers large falls that can even destroy dams and reservoirs.”
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