Kathmandu, August 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 19 people have died and dozens remain missing after a massive flood originating in Tibet swept through Nepal’s transboundary Bhotekoshi River, causing widespread destruction across affected areas, police said on Wednesday.
Nepal Police spokesperson Deputy Inspector General Abi Narayan Kafle said the bodies of 19 people swept away by the flood had been recovered by Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, 28 Nepal Police personnel have remained out of contact since the flood struck. Authorities believe the disaster may have been triggered by an ice avalanche in the upper reaches of the river.
Rescue operations were continuing, while authorities were conducting awareness campaigns among residents living downstream of the Bhotekoshi, including communities along the Trishuli River.
Local media also reported that more than two dozen bank employees remained unaccounted for. Onlinekhabar, quoting Nepal Bankers’ Association Chief Executive Officer Anil Sharma, reported that 26 employees of eight banks had remained out of contact.
The Nepal government said 114 people had been rescued by helicopters. Government spokesperson and Education and Sports Minister Sashmit Pokharel said 25 injured people rescued from the affected areas and brought to Kathmandu were undergoing treatment at hospitals across the Kathmandu Valley.
Another 21 injured people are receiving treatment at a hospital in Rasuwa district.
International assistance has also begun to emerge as Nepal responds to the disaster. The secretariat of Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle said India, China and the World Bank had pledged support for rescue and reconstruction efforts in the flood-affected areas.
The World Bank’s Nepal Country Director David Sislen informed Wagle at around 10:35 a.m. that emergency assistance of up to NPR 25 billion could be mobilised from various sources.
India has asked Nepal to provide a list of essential relief materials urgently required for flood victims, while China has decided to provide immediate cash assistance, the Finance Minister’s secretariat said.
A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday declared affected local governments in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts as “disaster crisis-hit areas”, enabling the mobilisation of domestic and international assistance for relief and reconstruction.
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