Floods in Nepal Leave 19 Dead, 384 Tourists Missing, Including 8 South Koreans

A massive flood in north-central Nepal has left 19 people dead and approximately 384 tourists missing. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. local time on August 26 in the Bagmati Province, according to reports from Reuters, AP, and Yonhap News.

Sunil Sharma, a spokesperson for the Nepal Tourism Board, stated that the missing foreign tourists hail from various countries, including India, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that eight South Korean employees from Korea Southeast Power and Doosan Enerbility, who were working on a hydropower project in the Rasuwagadhi area, have lost contact. Additionally, ten other South Koreans from Doosan Enerbility are stranded in the area awaiting rescue, prompting the Nepalese government to deploy helicopters to the site.

Rajendra Prasad Dhimal, a spokesperson for the Bagmati Province police, expressed concern to EFE news agency that the confirmed death toll may rise.

The affected area is located about 120 kilometers north of the capital, Kathmandu, near the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The Bote Kosi River in the Rasuwagadhi area overflowed, inundating several nearby villages and damaging roads and hydropower facilities.

The Rasuwagadhi area, which has experienced significant flooding, faced a similar incident in August of the previous year, when a sudden flood caused by high temperatures in the mountainous region led to the overflow of a glacial lake in Tibet, resulting in nine fatalities and damage to key infrastructure, including bridges connecting the two countries.

Climate experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, indicated that the recent flooding was likely caused by an avalanche originating from a glacier. One expert noted that the Rende Kola River, a tributary of the Bote Kosi, reached its highest level on that day.