Devastating Nepal flash flood: Hundreds of tourists missing and 95 people killed

[Mark]

At least 160 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after a flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal-Tibet border washed away villages and damaged roads and infrastructure.

The flood hit early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, just north of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, with preliminary information suggesting it was caused by an earthquake triggering an avalanche with melted snow pouring into the Bhote Koshi river.

Search operations are under way on both sides of the border and 88 people have been rescued so far, according to the Nepalese army.

State media in China, which controls Tibet, say there are significant casualties and Nepalese officials said they anticipate "huge scale loss".



Officials said work was under way to establish the whereabouts of 579 tourists, including 466 foreigners from 28 different countries. Of the tourists unaccounted for so far, 113 are Nepali, 54 from the US and 33 are UK nationals, according to the police.

Chinese state media says three people have died and 265 are missing in Tibet.

The missing tourists include 12 travellers from the UK as well as Americans, Malaysians, South Africans and Indians.

Alpine Eco Trek, which offers guided tours and expeditions in Nepal, confirmed that 12 British nationals on its tour across the Nepal-Tibet border were missing.

Ram Kumar Adhikari, the manager of Alpine Eco Trek, said two Irish nationals and four South African nationals who were also on the excursion are believed to be missing.

The ages of the missing British citizens range from 13 to 65, according to travel logs shared with PA news agency.

Several areas downstream of the Bhote Koshi river, which flows from Tibet to Nepal, are on high alert and roads, communications and power in the region have been disrupted. The authorities say the main road to Kathmandu is closed.

Verified videos from Nepal show a bridge being swept away and multi-storey buildings collapsed by the force of floodwaters, as well as a town with many buildings destroyed.

BBC Verify has located the clips to the town of Trishuli Bazaar area of Nuwakot District in Bagmati Province, about 25km (16 miles) to the north-west of Kathmandu.

The video shows the river Trishuli suddenly becoming swollen by enormous amounts of water, which appears to have significantly increased in volume and speed and filled with sediment.

About 40 seconds into the clip, the weight of the flash flood rips the bridge off of its supports and carries it swiftly downriver. A few seconds later, several buildings also collapse.
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