Hundreds missing after devastating flood hits Nepal-Tibet border, 95 bodies recovered

A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and China's Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding on the Nepali side that killed ​at least 95 people and left hundreds of tourists missing. In a still-unfolding ‌disaster, verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction. Houses, roads and power projects were swept away in Nepal, while officials in Tibet said they feared "major casualties", with some people missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a border land crossing.

Initial reports suggested an earthquake in the area could have triggered an avalanche and caused the floods, Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, told the country's parliament on Wednesday, local media reported. Fixed camera footage shows people fleeing Security footage captured on the Chinese side of the Nepal-Tibet border showed many people fleeing before a torrent of rock, mud and water destroyed buildings, vehicles and took many lives. With ​the deluge of muddy water sweeping down from an estimated nearly 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) above sea level, flood alerts were issued in the populous northern Indian states ⁠of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which border Nepal and where several rivers flow down the mountains into the plains.

Authorities in Bihar said they had evacuated about 5,000 people from six districts and planned to evacuate a total of ​10,000 to 12,000 people. citizens and 12 British nationals, Nepal's tourism ministry said. Dozens of local people were also missing.

Rescue teams in ​Nepal had recovered 95 bodies so far, police said. Local media reported 65 people were being treated in hospitals in the area and in the capital Kathmandu. South Korea separately said that eight of its nationals working on a hydropower plant were missing.

REUTERS Expert fears a second flood The exact cause of the mudslide could not be immediately determined, but the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said there was a 4.4 magnitude quake approximately seven minutes before the time shown on the security footage time-stamp.