Arabic version: ناجون من فيضانات نيبال والتبت يروون كيف جرفت المياه عائلاتهم

According to ABC News, survivors of flash flooding on the Tibet-Nepal border clung to trees while watching relatives swept away. More than 270 people are reported dead and about 1,500 people, including tourists and hikers, are missing, according to Nepal and China’s Tibet authorities.

The floods washed away homes, buried cars in mud and engulfed villages. Keshav Prasad Baral, 68, said a huge surge of mud rose as it approached his home. He said he tried to take his wife to the terrace after the flood entered their house, but she was swept away.

Healthcare worker Tula Bahadur BK said riverside settlements had been completely swept away and that five of her relatives were missing. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that at least 35 Australians were unaccounted for.

Authorities said 826 people were missing in Nepal, while Chinese state television reported 558 missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county, including 260 foreign nationals. Among 800 missing foreign nationals from more than two dozen countries were 177 people from India, 63 from the United States, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.

Nepal emergency services deployed helicopters to search for missing people and deliver supplies to thousands cut off by flooding. Bulldozers were also used to rescue people from damaged buildings along the Trishuli River. Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said the toll was expected to rise as searches resumed and more bodies were likely to be recovered.