More than 330 people have died in floods in Nepal and China, and about 1,000 are missing

As a result of a mudslide and flooding on the border between China and Nepal, more than 330 people have died and about 1,000 are missing, according to Reuters. The agency reports that contact has been lost with at least 700 foreign tourists.

Rescue workers are searching for survivors in the valleys and on the mountainsides of Nepal, which are buried under earth, mud, and debris.

The U.S. Geological Survey concluded that the tragedy on the border between the two countries may have been caused by a glacier collapse, followed by a mudslide and flooding. A wall of ice, mud, and rocks crashed into a mountain river, triggering a catastrophic flash flood, Reuters reports.

Nepalese authorities have deployed helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency aid to thousands of people cut off from the outside world in cities and valleys following the disaster. The disaster washed away a road—filled with tourists and pilgrims—that connects Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet (controlled by China). Rescue teams have located 100 missing Indian citizens, mostly pilgrims, as well as 25 Chinese workers in the hardest-hit area around Trisawali. The fate of at least 700 more foreigners remains unknown, while Nepalese authorities have not yet been able to determine the number of missing local residents, the agency notes. Additionally, more than 550 people are missing in the Tibetan county of Qulong.

In both disaster zones, there is no contact with citizens from more than twenty countries: 288 tourists from India, 63 from the United States, 51 from Malaysia, 34 from Australia, 33 from the United Kingdom, and 25 from Canada.

China has stated that it is in close contact with Nepal regarding search and rescue operations. Today, officials visited disaster-stricken areas on both sides of the border, according to Reuters.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor