KATHMANDU — Authorities in Nepal and China raced on Aug. 27 to account for hundreds of people still missing more than a day after a devastating flood swept through the Himalayan border region with Tibet, leaving at least 180 confirmed dead.
Nepal’s Tourism Board reported that 517 foreign nationals remained uncontacted as rescue teams and police worked to verify the whereabouts of tourists and travellers in the affected areas. Across both countries, officials say more than 1,300 people are missing and 180 have died.
Nepal’s police put the country’s overall missing count at 823 and confirmed 177 fatalities. In China, state media described a mudslide at Gyirong Port in Tibet that killed three people and left 558 others, including about 260 foreigners, unaccounted for.
Missing foreign nationals include 178 from India, 65 from the United States, 53 from Ukraine, 51 from Malaysia, 35 from Australia, 33 from the United Kingdom and 25 from Canada. Smaller numbers reported missing include nine Singaporeans, eight Germans and eight Russians.
A tour operator told Voice of Asia on Aug. 27 that a group of 47 people, including two children, remained missing following the floods. Himalayan Glacier managing director Sanket Pandey said the group included 15 Australians (two of them boys), 10 Canadians, nine Nepalis, eight Americans, two Britons, two Singaporeans and one dual Russian–American citizen. He said seven Nepali guides were also among the missing.
Pandey said the company’s team was checking hospitals and other sites where survivors and victims might be taken. Sagar Pandey, founder of a U.S.-based trekking company and president of Nepal’s trekking agencies association, flew over the disaster zone by helicopter but was unable to land.
Rescue operations have been hampered by difficult terrain, heavy debris and disrupted communications. Authorities from both countries said they were coordinating efforts to identify victims and locate survivors as they continue search-and-rescue and verification work.