Nepal floods: 178 Indian nationals missing, 21 rescued from Timure; Indian missions in Nepal, China activate helplines

At least 178 Indian nationals are missing after devastating flash floods swept through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river regions across Rasuwa Nuwakot Dhading and Gorkha districts in Nepal leaving a trail of destruction and disrupting travel corridors Nepals National Tourism Board statedThe disaster unfolded around 830 am on Wednesday damaging settlements along riverbanks and affecting several areas near the NepalChina borderAccording to Nepals National Tourism Board 178 Indians are missing following flash floods in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts pictwittercomVAD6nKrBHfmdash ANI ANI August 27 2026According to data released by the board 644 travellers including 127 Nepali citizens and hundreds of foreign tourists remain unaccounted forMeanwhile 21 Indians have been rescued from floodhit TimureHelpline for IndiansThe situation has prompted Indian diplomatic missions in Kathmandu and Beijing to coordinate with Nepalese authorities as search and rescue operations continue for missing and stranded peopleThe Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and the Indian Embassy in Beijing have issued advisories and set up emergency helplines to assist Indian citizens affected by the floods and those stranded near the Tibet borderThe Embassy of India in Kathmandu can be contacted at 977 985 131 6807 977 970 910 7500 and 977 981 032 6117 WhatsApp available 977 985 131 6807977 970 910 7500977 981 032 6117These emergency numbers can also be contacted through WhatsApphellipmdash IndiaInNepal IndiaInNepal August 27 2026The Indian Embassy in Beijing has issued a parallel advisory for Indian citizens stranded near border areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region Citizens can contact the Embassy at 0086 185 1428 4905 WhatsApp availableIn view of the recent flashflood in the border areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region Peoples Republic of China Indian nationals stranded in the vicinity can seek assistance from the following contact pointsi Chinese officials on the ground 0086 139 8999 0012ii Embassyhellip pictwittercomsCRmROkhYFmdash India in China EOIBeijing August 26 2026Other emergency contacts include Nepals National Emergency Operation Centre at 1234 Nepal Police at 100 and the Armed Police Force APF Nepal at 1114Authorities have advised travellers in affected areas to remain calm avoid riverbanks and strictly follow instructions issued by local emergency teamsMeanwhile Nepalese Prime Minister Balen Shah travelled to floodhit Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot district on Thursday morning to inspect the affected areasDuring the visit the Prime Minister assessed the physical damage and held discussions with local administration officials security agencies and elected representatives on relief rehabilitation and restoration of disrupted infrastructure services21 Indians rescued from floodhit TimureAmid the ongoing rescue operations 21 Indian nationals were among 116 people evacuated from Timure one of the worstaffected areas early on Thursday news agency IANS reportedPM Shah said the Nepali Army carried out the rescue operation and safely evacuated the Indian nationals along with 95 Nepalese citizens from the areaMeanwhile the death toll from the devastating flooding has reached 180 while more than 800 people remain out of contact according to Nepali authoritiesThe National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority NDRRMA said 826 people remained out of contact as of 11 am on Thursday Of these 579 were tourists although the authority did not clarify whether they were foreign tourists domestic tourists or bothThe figures underline the scale of the disaster with rescue teams continuing to search affected areas along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systemsFlood sweeps across several Nepal districtsThe massive flood originating in the Tibetan region of China swept through the transboundary Bhotekoshi River before causing widespread destruction in NepalBodies have been recovered from riverbanks in several downstream districts including Rasuwa Nuwakot Dhading Chitwan Gorkha Tanahun Nawalparasi East and Nawalparasi WestMost of the bodies were recovered in Chitwan in Nepals southern plainsThe flooding also affected human settlements hydropower projects customs offices and electricity infrastructure according to the Nepali governmentThe disaster has left several people stranded and disrupted movement through affected areasRescue operations continueSearch and rescue operations led by the Nepal Army APF and local law enforcement remain underway to locate missing people and evacuate affected travellersAs of Thursday morning 48 Nepali Army personnel 28 Nepal Police personnel 13 APF personnel and 162 other people from Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts were also reported to be out of contactWith ANI and IANS inputs