Deadly mudslide and floods in the Himalayas
Floods from the Himalayan mountain range have caused a huge mudslide – with many deaths and destroyed infrastructure in Nepal and Tibet as a result.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered a full-scale search and rescue operation after reports of deaths in the border area of Gyirong in Tibet, writes China's state news agency Xinhua.
Chinese media are reporting "heavy losses", without specifying these.
On the Nepalese side, at least eight people have been killed, writes AFP, citing police data. A major search and rescue operation is also underway there, in which 14 helicopters are participating.
The Kathmandu Post newspaper reports on flooded rivers, a destroyed hydroelectric plant, swept away markets and a 42-kilometer-long road that was washed away.
The flood reportedly began in Tibet early Wednesday and quickly caused the Bhotekoshi River in northern Nepal to rise. Dozens of villages along the riverbanks were affected. In Nuwakot, northwest of Kathmandu, people and entire homes were swept away as the water level rose rapidly.
“People can’t even talk,” Yugnath Adhikari, who witnessed two sisters, a nephew and his wife being washed away, told The Kathmandu Post.
Some managed to get to safety, but many people, especially the elderly and children, are reported to be missing. In Timure, near the border with China, nine police officers are missing.
There are a number of theories about what triggered the floods and landslide, according to media reports. One is that an ice avalanche blocked a river in the Himalayas, which eventually burst. Another is that a glacial lake overflowed. The event is also linked to the annual monsoon rains.
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