Xi's personal rescue call shows size of Tibet devastationpublished at 13:54 BST

13:54 BST

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

Image source, Reuters

There are significant casualties in Tibet after a devastating mudslide, according to Chinese state media. A number of people are also reported missing.

Footage from a surveillance camera at the border appears to show buildings being completely submerged by mud and water.

It is always difficult in China to get an idea of the scale of a disaster as all media in the country are carefully controlled, particularly in Tibet.

But when the top leader, President Xi Jinping, offers personal directives, it is usually an indication an incident is very serious.

He has urged rescue teams to do all they can to search for those missing.

The border at Gyirong County is the main crossing point for tourists and traffic going between China and Nepal. Around 4,000 people live there. There were also a number of Chinese construction projects underway in the Tibetan border region, according to local workers who spoke to the BBC.

Multiple agencies have been mobilised including a team of 200 geological, engineering and emergency response personnel equipped with reconnaissance drones, 3D laser scanners, life detectors and rescue equipment were mobilised.

Roads, communications and power in the region are also still disrupted.

Phanindra Dahal
BBC Nepali, Kathmandu

Image source, Reuters

This is the most devastating disaster in Nepal since the 2015 earthquake which claimed nearly 9,000 lives.

Several downstream districts along the Nepal-China border have been impacted. Officials say there has been huge loss of life and property but are yet to present a clear estimate.

Several settlements in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts along the banks of the Bhotekoshi river are the worst affected. They are sparsely populated, but their roads serve as a major lifeline for Nepal-China trade. Critical infrastructure, including hydropower, highways and bridges along the area, has been destroyed.

Local authorities have confirmed the death toll is at least 31 and a spokesperson told the BBC that the scale of damage "has been beyond imagination".

Thousands of tourists, including Indian nationals, travel through this area to make a journey to Kailash Mansarovar, located in Tibet. Every year during the local Hindu festival of Janai Purnima, hundreds of Nepali pilgrims visit Gosaikunda, located inside a national park in the region, for worship.

As dusk approaches, it is a race against time for officials to conduct search and rescue operations.

Last year, a flash flood in the same area killed 18 people and caused damaged worth over Rs 6bn (£46m). This tragedy has once again taken a heavy toll on the community living along the same area.

According to local authorities, the death toll has now risen to 31, as of 17:25 local time (11:40 GMT).

Ninety-three people are also confirmed to have been injured.

Before-and-after satellite images show flooding in the areas around the Trishuli river.

In each composite, the first image was taken three days ago before flash flooding. The second, taken today, shows a swollen river and water in the surrounding areas.

As we've been reporting, the government says the cause may have been an earthquake triggering an avalanche.

Video filmed inside bus shows people fleeing flash floodpublished at 13:26 BST

13:26 BST

By Adam Durbin

A new video filmed from inside a bus in Trishuli shows dozens of people trying to flee as a flash flood surges down the valley.

The verified video shows floodwaters rapidly swelling and spilling down the river, as many attempt to flee on foot, moped and other vehicles.

Passengers can be heard crying out in alarm on board, as the bus drives along the road which follows the river.

BBC Verify has already confirmed other clips capturing the moment the flood struck the town and revealing its destructive aftermath.

Image source, X

Dramatic images show rescue efforts under way with an older woman being transported to safety in Trishuli Bazar, Nuwakot district.

In one picture, she sits alongside rescuers in the scoop of a digger.

In another, police officers carry her to safety in their arms.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Eight South Korean nationals are currently "uncontactable" following the flash flood, according to South Korea's foreign ministry.

The ministry says those missing were constructing a hydropower plant in the area.

It adds thtat another 10 South Korean nationals are stranded in the area and awaiting rescue.

The Nepalese government has sent a helicopter to rescue them, according to the ministry.

Image source, Reuters

A spokesman for Nepal's army says 88 flood survivors have been rescued so far, with troops trying to rescue another 115 from the village of Mailung.

Rajaram Basnet tells the BBC that 15 helicopters have been mobilised for search and rescue operations.

The Ministry of Home Affairs in Nepal says huge loss of life and property is reported in Timure, Syabrubesi and Betrawati.

It says the flood caused damage to the Trishuli hydropower project and swept away bridges in different places.

Image source, EPA

At least 18 have died and hundreds are missing after a flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet earlier today. Here's what we know:

• The flood hit early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, north of Nepal's capital Kathmandu
• Police say one man was found dead in Rasuwa, seven people in Nuwakot, six in Dhading and four in Gorkha
• The country's tourism board says it has identified around 400 missing travellers including 291 foreign nationals
• Chinese state media outlet CCTV is also reporting "major casualties" in Tibet, which is controlled by China
• Nepal's foreign minister says early information suggests it was caused by an earthquake triggering an avalanche
• The US embassy in Nepal says authorities have reported severe flooding in Rasuwa, and issued warnings for communities along the Bhote Koshi, Trishuli, and Narayani rivers

About 400 tourists - including 291 foreigners - are reportedly missing, the head of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) tells BBC Nepali.

Most of them were bound for Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.

"The figure is being updated as reports continue to come in from tour operators running Tibet-bound packages for rescues," says Hikmat Singh Ayer, the board's acting CEO.

Those unaccounted for include more than 100 Indians, 17 Malaysians, 12 Britons, four South Africans, and nationals from the United States, Australia, and the Netherlands.

The flood-affected route also serves as a key gateway to Langtang National Park trekking and Gosainkunda, a holy lake on the lap of mountains, where people pay homage during the Rakshabandhan festival which occurs this Friday.

Nepal police have published a statement saying that 18 people had been confirmed dead by 15:45 local time (10:00 GMT).

One man was found dead in Rasuwa, seven people in Nuwakot, six in Dhading and four in Gorkha, the statement says.

We're now starting to get pictures from Tibet, where CCTV footage captures a wall of mud and water hitting the border checkpoint buildings at Gyirong.

The flash flood and mudslide partially submerged villages in an area popular with trekkers.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Chinese state media outlet CCTV is reporting "major casualties" from a mudslide at a trade hub on the Tibetan side of the shared border.

China's President Xi Jinping is urging "all-out" search efforts for the missing, as well as stronger monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.

The Chinese government has also instructed personnel to go to Tibet - which is controlled by China - for search and rescue missions.

Nepal police tell the BBC that 17 bodies have been discovered in various districts following the floods on Wednesday morning.

As we've been reporting, hundreds are also missing including tourists.

Videos show Nepal town bridge and buildings swept away by floodpublished at 12:21 BST

12:21 BST

Image source, X

By Emma Pengelly

Verified videos from Nepal show a bridge being swept away and multi-storey buildings collapsed by the force of floodwaters, and the aftermath of a town with many buildings destroyed.

BBC Verify has located the clips to the Trishuli Bazaar area of Nuwakot District in Bagmati Province, about 16 miles (25km) to the north-west of Kathmandu.

The video shows the river Trishuli suddenly becoming swollen by enormous amounts of water, which appears to have significantly increased in volume and speed and filled with sediment.

About 40 seconds into the clip, the weight of the flash flood rips the bridge off its supports and carries it swiftly downriver. A few seconds later, several buildings also collapse.

The second verified video, filmed from the same location, shows the devastating aftermath. The river’s level has risen significantly, and trees and many building visible in the earlier video have been ripped away.

It is not clear exactly how many have been destroyed, but many buildings near the riverbank have disappeared, partially collapsed or are caked in sediment from the flood’s force.

Image source, X

Image source, EPA

Pictures show brown, muddy floodwater sweeping through Nuwakot district - one of the areas affected by the flash flooding.

Houses are partially submerged and people can be seen wading through flooded streets. On the picture below, what seems to be a tractor and other equipment can be seen covered in muddy water.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

An earthquake hit the area at around 08:37 local time, Nepal's foreign minister Shishir Khanal tells parliament, citing preliminary information.

He says the earthquake then triggered an avalanche, which in turn resulted in flash floods. He notes that teams are still verifying the information.

Khanal says that as well as Nepal, China is also experiencing "huge damage".

He says Nepal is co-ordinating with China. So far, 26 police personnel, nine armed police personnel and 44 military personnel are missing.

Officials from customs and immigration are also missing, he adds.

There has also been huge damage on road, bridges, communication and hydropower infrastructures. Rasuwa and Nuwakot were worst affected districts, he adds.

As we’ve reported 384 travellers are "reported missing", including 93 Nepali nationals and 291 foreign nationals.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board, the foreign nationals include:

• 12 British nationals
• 105 Indians
• 37 non-resident Indians

• 17 Malaysians
• 4 South Africans
• 3 Americans
• 1 Australian
• 1 Dutch

• 111 nationalities yet to be confirmed

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Yee Liang, a Chinese businessman based in Kathmandu, Nepal, says his logistics company has seven container trucks in the area of the flash flood, which are all staffed by Nepalese employees.

"We have lost contact with all of them. There is no signal, so we cannot reach anyone," he tells the BBC.

Yee says that as far as he knows, there was no warning.

"There were occasional mudslides and landslides, especially in the rainy season, but this one seems much more serious," he adds.

On the Tibetan side, Guan Daoxuan in Sichuan province tells the BBC he lost contact with his wife late on Wednesday morning.

She works for a state-run construction company involved in building roads and bridges in Tibet.

Guan said Nepalese authorities had tried to send a helicopter to inspect the area because road access had been cut off, but strong winds were making it difficult for the aircraft to reach the site.

Hundreds of people are missing following a flash flood in the Bhote Koshi river along the Nepal-Tibet border.

In an update shared on X, the Nepal Tourism Board says it has identified 384 travellers as missing in total, including 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali nationals.

It says it is "working to verify" the "whereabouts and safety status" of those travelling through the region.

The flood hit early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, north of Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

We'll bring you more on this story. soon from our teams across the region.