Mudslide on Nepal-Tibet border triggers catastrophic flooding

At least 384 travellers are missing after torrential floods swept through Nepal’s Himalayan region near the Tibet border.

The country’s tourism board says 291 of those missing are foreign nationals, including 105 Indians.

At least nine people have been killed, with rescue operations underway.

It ​is suspected that an earthquake struck the region and triggered an ⁠ice-rock avalanche on the Lhende Khola river in Nepal, causing the floods.

The river ​runs through both Nepal and Tibet.

What triggered the flood? The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said there was a 4.4 magnitude quake approximately seven minutes before the time shown on security footage, which captured people fleeing the border.

Nepal’s foreign minister Shishir Khanal told the country’s parliament that initial reports suggested an earthquake in the area could have triggered an avalanche and caused the floods, local media reported.

China’s official Xinhua news agenc y said the mudslide occurred on the Nepali side and hit the Gyirong port in Shigatse City, Tibet, cutting roads, communications and power links in the Shigatse region near the border.

Xinhua did not elaborate further.

A wall of mud and rock appeared to collapse ​into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and China’s Tibet on Wednesday.

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 missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a border land crossing.