Arabic version: فيضانات الهيمالايا تدمر معبر نيبال-الصين

According to BBC News, floods on 26 August devastated the Gyirong-Rasuwagadhi border crossing between Nepal and Tibet, sweeping away much of the complex on both sides. CCTV footage from Gyirong shows water, mud, boulders, ice and rock surging down the valley, while satellite imagery indicates that buildings and vehicles disappeared from the valley floor.

On Nepal’s side, the Friendship Bridge, immigration and customs facilities, and the trading settlement of Timure were destroyed. Nepal’s immigration records show 89 Nepali and foreign nationals had cleared departure formalities for Tibet that morning, while four people had registered entry into Nepal. The system’s final transaction was recorded at 8:35:03am local time, less than 10 minutes before the torrent appeared on CCTV in Gyirong.

Researchers later attributed seismic movement detected at 8:37am to the collapse of part of a glacier above the border, which triggered the flood. China said the mudslide reached the crossing about seven minutes after its origin. Four Rasuwagadhi immigration employees, including the office head, went missing; his body was later found downstream. Tika Ram Pokharel, who was in Kathmandu for an exam, was the only known survivor from his office.

The crossing was crowded that morning, Pokharel said, with an estimated 300 to 400 people waiting to leave Nepal for Tibet. More than 100 Indians may have been at or near the crossing, and India’s foreign ministry says at least 275 Indians remain missing in Nepal. The route is used by pilgrims, traders, truck drivers, tourists and border residents, and is one of Nepal’s two main trade points with China.

Rasuwagadhi had reopened on 1 January after flooding in July 2025 shut it for nearly six months. Its latest closure has increased Nepal’s reliance on Tatopani, another China trade crossing that Chinese authorities have also temporarily closed because of landslide risks on the Nepali side.