Ten days after flash floods tore through the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, the full weight of the disaster continues to reveal itself — 275 Indian nationals remain unaccounted for, Nepal's death toll has surpassed 1,294, and thousands more are still missing across a region where rivers have rewritten the landscape. In the darkness of mud-filled hydropower tunnels, rescuers from India and Nepal press forward together, embodying the ancient understanding that catastrophe, in its indifference to borders, demands that neighbors become one another's keepers.
275 Indians missing in Nepal floods as rescue efforts intensify
275 Indian nationals missing; Nepal's death toll at 1,294 with 5,053 missing; hundreds of workers trapped in hydropower tunnels; 169 Indians rescued including a five-year-old.
Hundreds of workers trapped beneath collapsed infrastructure and debris
Mark
So 275 Indians missing—that's a significant number. Do we know where most of them were when the floods hit?
Mimi
The source doesn't break down their locations in detail, but we know some were in areas like Trishuli Bazaar. The real concentration seems to be around the hydropower facilities, especially the Chilime tunnel in Rasuwa.
Luke
Right, and that's important to flag: the source doesn't actually tell us how many of those 275 were at the hydropower sites versus other locations. We're inferring based on the rescue focus.
Mark
What about the rescue rate? 169 out of 275 is already rescued?
Mimi
No—169 have been rescued so far, but 275 are still missing. So the rescue operation is ongoing, not complete.
Luke
And we should note: Nepal's missing count is 5,053 people. So the 275 Indians are part of a much larger tragedy.
Mark
Why are the hydropower tunnels so dangerous?
Mimi
They're filled with mud and water. Hundreds of workers were inside when the floods hit. The tunnels are dark, flooded, and hard to access—that's why you need specialized rescue teams.
Luke
The source says "believed to be trapped," which is worth noting. We don't have a confirmed count of how many workers are actually in those tunnels.
Mark
And India's sending its own rescue team?
Mimi
Yes, they're working with Nepal's defense forces. They're draining water, building temporary tracks for equipment. It's a serious, sustained operation.
Luke
The source confirms the Indian team is there and working, but doesn't give us timelines or success rates yet. This is still very much in progress.
O Pulso
- Ten days on, the August 26 floods remain an open wound — 275 Indians unaccounted for, Nepal's death toll at 1,294, and 5,053 people still missing across the country.
- Hundreds of workers are believed trapped inside collapsed, waterlogged hydropower tunnels along the Nepal-Tibet border, where every hour narrows the window for survival.
- Indian and Nepali rescue teams are drilling deeper into the Chilime hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa district, draining floodwater and laying temporary tracks to bring in heavier machinery.
- Small victories punctuate the grim search — 169 Indians rescued so far, including a five-year-old child pulled from Trishuli Bazaar and airlifted toward home.
- India has delivered nearly 95 tonnes of relief material and confirmed that 1,907 of its nationals have safely crossed from China into Nepal, with no Indians reported stranded in Tibet.
Ten days after flash floods tore through the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, the full weight of the disaster continues to reveal itself — 275 Indian nationals remain unaccounted for, Nepal's death toll has surpassed 1,294, and thousands more are still missing across a region where rivers have rewritten the landscape. In the darkness of mud-filled hydropower tunnels, rescuers from India and Nepal press forward together, embodying the ancient understanding that catastrophe, in its indifference to borders, demands that neighbors become one another's keepers.
Ten days after flash floods swept the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 275 of its nationals remain unaccounted for in one of the region's deadliest recent disasters. Nepal's official death toll has reached 1,294, with another 5,053 still missing across the country. The most urgent rescue efforts are concentrated at mud-filled hydropower tunnels, where hundreds of workers are believed trapped beneath collapsed infrastructure.
Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced that 169 Indians have been rescued so far, including a five-year-old child pulled from Trishuli Bazaar and assisted home by air. Another 1,907 Indian nationals have safely crossed from China into Nepal since the disaster struck, with no Indians reported stranded in Tibet's Autonomous Region.
At the Chilime hydropower plant in Rasuwa district, an Indian tunnel rescue team working alongside Nepal's defense forces has been drilling deeper into the passage, draining water, and constructing a temporary track to move heavier equipment closer to the trapped workers. Indian medical personnel on site have also established a health camp for the surrounding community.
India has supplied nearly 95 tonnes of relief material since August 26, reflecting the scale of need across a region where communities have been cut off and infrastructure devastated. With rescue operations still ongoing and the missing count likely to shift, the coordinated effort between Indian and Nepali forces stands as one of the largest cross-border relief operations the region has seen in recent years.
Ten days after flash floods swept across the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 275 of its nationals remain unaccounted for in what has become one of the region's deadliest natural disasters in recent memory. The scale of the catastrophe extends far beyond Indian borders: Nepal's official death toll has reached 1,294 people, with another 5,053 still missing across the country. Among the most urgent rescue efforts are operations at mud-filled hydropower tunnels, where hundreds of workers are believed to be trapped beneath collapsed infrastructure and debris.
India's foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced on Friday that 169 Indians have been successfully rescued from the flood-affected areas so far. In one of the latest operations, three Indians—including a five-year-old child—were pulled to safety from Trishuli Bazaar and are being assisted in their return to India by air. The ministry also reported that 1,907 Indian nationals have safely crossed from China into Nepal since the disaster struck. Significantly, no Indian travelers remain stranded in Tibet's Autonomous Region, according to official Chinese sources cited by Jaiswal.
The rescue operation has become a coordinated international effort. An Indian tunnel rescue team, working alongside Nepal's defense forces at the Chilime hydropower plant in Rasuwa district, intensified its work over the weekend. On Saturday, India's Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava reported that the team had dug deeper into the tunnel while draining water from the passage, and was constructing a temporary track to allow heavier equipment to reach the site. Medical personnel accompanying the Indian rescuers also established a health camp for residents in the surrounding community.
India has mobilized substantial resources to support Nepal's recovery. Since August 26, New Delhi has supplied nearly 95 tonnes of relief material to the flood-affected country. The assistance reflects the scale of the humanitarian need across a region where entire communities have been cut off and infrastructure has been severely damaged. The hydropower facilities, which employ hundreds of workers, have become focal points of the rescue effort as teams race against time to locate survivors in the dark, waterlogged tunnels.
The disaster has tested regional cooperation and disaster response capabilities. With rescue operations still ongoing and the missing count likely to shift as teams continue their search, the focus remains on reaching those trapped in the most inaccessible locations. The coordination between Indian and Nepali forces, supported by medical and logistical resources from New Delhi, represents one of the largest cross-border relief efforts in recent years for the region.
Citações Notáveis
The Indian tunnel rescue team working alongside Nepali Army dug deeper into Chilime tunnel yesterday draining out water. A temporary track is also being made to allow more heavy equipment to reach tunnel.— Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava
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Leia o original em Deutsche Welle ↗
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