KATHMANDU, Nepal — At least 66 Americans were reported missing Thursday as rescue crews searched devastated communities along the Nepal-Tibet border following catastrophic flash floods that killed hundreds of people, destroyed roads and bridges and left more than 1,000 people unaccounted for across the Himalayan region. The number of missing Americans has changed repeatedly as authorities contact tour groups, locate survivors and reconcile lists from Nepal and Tibet. Nepal’s Tourism Board reported Thursday evening that 66 Americans were among those missing. The U.S. State Department separately said approximately 90 Americans had been affected or remained unaccounted for as officials continued trying to determine their whereabouts. Three Americans had been confirmed rescued, and the State Department said it was not aware of any American deaths as of Thursday.
The disaster struck Wednesday morning after a massive collapse involving ice and rock in the Himalayas sent an enormous volume of water, mud and debris rushing downstream through the border region. The torrent swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa district and communities along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems, burying buildings, destroying bridges, severing roads and leaving entire areas inaccessible from the ground.
By Thursday evening, the confirmed death toll had risen dramatically. Nepalese authorities reported hundreds of deaths, while Chinese authorities reported additional fatalities across the border in Tibet. ABC News reported that the combined confirmed toll had reached at least 389 as rescue operations continued. Because large numbers of people remained missing, authorities warned that the number of confirmed deaths could continue to increase.
The scale of the destruction has complicated efforts to determine exactly how many people are missing. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported 826 people out of contact at one point Thursday, while Chinese authorities reported another 558 missing in Tibet. Hundreds were foreign tourists, workers and religious pilgrims traveling through the Himalayan border region. Many of the missing foreigners had been traveling toward or returning from Mount Kailash in Tibet, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus, Buddhists and followers of other religious traditions. The pilgrimage route takes travelers through some of the areas struck hardest by the disaster.
One group caught in the disaster was associated with the Isha Foundation, an India-based spiritual organization that also operates a center in Tennessee. The organization said 77 people traveling with its tours had been at an immigration center near the Nepal-Tibet border when the flooding occurred. Twenty-two members of that group were Americans.
Other Americans were traveling independently or with different tour companies. Fishtail Tours and Travel confirmed that three Americans traveling with the company were among those missing. Families in the United States have also turned to social media and news organizations seeking information about relatives they have been unable to contact.
One of the missing Americans publicly identified by relatives is 45-year-old Venus Rajnikant Patel, an Indian-born U.S. citizen who recently moved from St. Louis to Cincinnati. Friends said Patel was traveling in the region when the flooding struck and had been staying near the disaster zone. His friends were awaiting information Thursday as rescue operations continued.
The destruction has made those searches extraordinarily difficult.
Nepalese authorities said dozens of bridges were destroyed and approximately 25 miles of roads were damaged. Helicopters became essential for reaching communities isolated by washed-out roads and enormous deposits of mud and debris. Nepal’s army, police and other security forces deployed thousands of personnel to affected areas.
More than 9,000 security personnel were reported deployed in Nepal by Thursday, including approximately 4,200 members of the army. Military helicopters evacuated survivors, transported injured people to medical facilities and delivered supplies to communities that could no longer be reached by road.
Rescuers have already pulled hundreds of people from affected areas. Nepalese authorities reported that at least 466 injured people had been rescued as operations expanded Thursday. Soldiers were also photographed carrying children and other survivors evacuated from isolated communities.
Conditions remained dangerous for the rescuers themselves. Continued rainfall raised the possibility of additional landslides, while authorities monitored newly formed bodies of water that could produce further flooding if natural barriers holding them back failed. Chinese officials also warned about the danger from a barrier lake formed near the confluence of rivers in Tibet.
The flood struck with extraordinary speed. Hydrological observations cited by scientists indicated that water levels along the Trishuli River rose by as much as approximately 9 meters, or 27 feet, within half an hour. Videos showed people attempting to escape as an enormous wall of muddy water and debris swept through populated areas.
Scientists initially investigated reports of an earthquake associated with the disaster. The U.S. Geological Survey later determined that seismic activity detected in the region was generated by a massive landslide rather than a conventional earthquake. Researchers examining satellite imagery and other evidence said an ice-and-rock avalanche involving a glacier apparently blocked a river before producing the destructive downstream surge.
The disaster extended across an international border.
In Tibet’s Gyirong County, Chinese state media reported that 558 people remained missing, including approximately 260 foreigners. Mud reportedly reached depths averaging more than five feet in areas around the Gyirong border crossing, while roads leading into the region were badly damaged. China deployed a large military transport aircraft carrying rescue personnel and equipment, while Chinese Premier Li Qiang traveled to Gyirong to oversee response operations. Nepal also requested international assistance as the enormous scale of the destruction became apparent.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States had communicated with Nepalese officials and offered assistance. Trump said the United States was prepared to provide Nepal with whatever help was needed as authorities attempted to locate Americans and other missing people.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration’s immediate priority was locating Americans affected by the disaster. “We’re focused on rescuing every American that we possibly can,” Leavitt said Thursday while discussing the U.S. response.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed U.S. solidarity with Nepal and said the State Department was prepared to provide humanitarian assistance. The United States announced $500,000 in assistance for affected communities, while the United Nations allocated an initial $2 million for emergency medical care, shelter and water.
India and China also offered assistance to Nepal, and United Nations organizations began mobilizing supplies and personnel. Officials estimated that approximately 10,000 households required immediate relief.
The number of missing Americans remains fluid. Early reports identified 47 Americans as missing. That figure subsequently increased into the 60s as tourism authorities gathered information from tour operators. By Thursday evening, Nepal’s Tourism Board was reporting 66 Americans missing, while the State Department’s broader accounting indicated approximately 90 Americans remained affected or unaccounted for across the disaster region.
Those differences do not necessarily represent conflicting final counts. The State Department is attempting to account for U.S. citizens across both Nepal and Tibet, while Nepalese tourism authorities are working from traveler and tour records within their jurisdiction. Officials have repeatedly cautioned that the numbers will change as communications are restored and survivors reach authorities. For American families waiting for information, the most significant fact Thursday was that U.S. officials had not confirmed any American deaths. Three Americans had been rescued, while search teams continued working through destroyed communities and isolated mountain terrain looking for dozens more.
The operation increasingly has two missions: finding survivors as quickly as possible and delivering food, water, shelter and medical assistance to thousands of people cut off by one of the most destructive Himalayan floods in recent years.
With hundreds already confirmed dead and more than 1,000 people still missing across Nepal and Tibet, authorities cautioned that the full human cost of the disaster may not be known for days.
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By B. Wilder, Staff Reporter contributed to this report.
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