Video Shows Flood Waters Tearing Through China-Nepal Border As Death Toll Hits 72

Flood waters tore down a Himalayan river in Nepal on Wednesday morning, killing at least 72 people.

Rescuers recovered bodies from several locations, Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told the Associated Press (AP). At least 28 police officials also remain unaccounted for, Kafle said. The Nepal Tourist Board placed 384 people on a preliminary list of the missing, including three Americans, according to the AP.

Videos that spread online showed a landslide reaching the Gyirong Port checkpoint on the Chinese side within seconds, with bystanders scattering ahead of it. Reuters reported that verified footage showed floodwater carrying off dozens of people at the border. (RELATED: Two Dead As Historic Flash Floods Ravage US State)

Tourism board officials said most of those unaccounted for were likely Indian nationals or members of the Indian diaspora traveling to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a Hindu holy site, according to the AP.

बाढी प्रभावितहरूको हवाई साधनद्वारा उद्धार जारी…..
उच्च सतर्कता अपनाउँदै सुरक्षित स्थानमा रहन समेत अनुरोध#NepaliArmy#नेपालीसेना#BhotekoshiFlood pic.twitter.com/BpejEjVJld

Nearly all trade between China and Nepal moves through the Gyirong Port, according to the South China Morning Post. Chinese state media reported heavy casualties and people unaccounted for at the crossing. Chinese President Xi Jinping directed officials to intensify the search, Chinese state-controlled media outlet Xinhua reported. Xi also called for tighter monitoring and warning systems to head off follow-on disasters, Reuters reported.

Nepal committed its army, Armed Police Force and national police to the response, backed by 14 helicopters, according to The Kathmandu Post. A Nepali Army spokesperson shared that rescuers had carried at least 25 people to safety by Wednesday afternoon. Nine Armed Police Force personnel stationed at Timure near the border are missing.

Nepali authorities have not confirmed a cause.

“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, according to the AP.

Nepal’s Flood Forecasting Division said it received only informal information pointing to a landslide inside Tibet, according to The Kathmandu Post. Xinhua placed the mudslide on the Nepali side, Reuters reported.

The same river flooded in 2025 when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed, killing nine people, according to the AP. That flood destroyed a bridge connecting the two countries, Reuters reported.