Search underway for 1,000 missing after deadly Nepal-Tibet floods

Rescue efforts are underway to locate over 1,000 people who are missing following devastating flash floods and landslides on the Nepal-Tibet border. At least 165 people have lost their lives in the disaster, with entire villages swept away. Surveillance footage from the Chinese side of the border shows a massive wall of mud and debris crashing over a multi-story building, engulfing it as people fled below. The surge swept away vehicles like toys, and many of the missing are believed to be foreign tourists.

The United States Geological Survey attributes the disaster to a glacial collapse, which triggered seismic activity and downstream impacts in both Nepal and Tibet. The collapse sent a wall of mud and debris down the Bhote Koshi valley, affecting both countries. Chinese officials confirm that 558 people, including 260 foreigners, are still missing, while 162 bodies have been recovered in Nepal. The Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers were the primary routes of destruction, with Nepali police reporting 162 fatalities.

Raju Bhadel, a businessman from Nepal's Nuwakot district, shared that his brother-in-law's entire family was swept away, and his brother remains missing. Teacher Manok Mishra witnessed nine trucks being swept away, including people. A day after the disaster, 468 tourists -- 393 of them foreigners -- were unaccounted for, according to Nepal's tourism ministry. The foreigners included residents from India, Australia, Britain, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States.

Environmental historian Ruth Gamble from La Trobe University described the rush of mud and debris as an "inland tsunami" traveling nearly 170 kilometers down the Bhote Koshi valley. The popular route for international tourists traveling from Kathmandu to Lhasa has been wiped out, with entire villages and market areas destroyed. David Fisher, the Nepal head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has dispatched emergency supplies to the affected areas.

Tibet's government has mobilized nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles, along with sniffer dogs and speed boats, to aid in the rescue efforts. The cause of the disaster is still under investigation, but the US Geological Survey determined it was a glacial collapse causing seismic activity and debris flow. Climate change is increasing the risk of glacial lake floods and glacial collapses worldwide. Experts caution that a lingering blockage in a river could lead to additional flooding.