Summary

  • The search for survivors is continuing for a second night in Nepal and Tibet where flash flooding on Wednesday devastated the Himalayan border region

  • In Nepal, over 900 people are missing and at least 389 have died. In Tibet, three people have died and more than 550 are missing. It's not clear if the latest figures overlap

  • A collapsed glacier on Nepal's side of the border caused the huge flood wave, officials there tell the BBC. The surge tore through houses and roads, and destroyed a key Nepal-Tibet border crossing

  • Tens of thousands of tourists visit the flood-hit area every year. A man from East London tells the BBC his missing sister was "really excited" to go on her first pilgrimage there

  • There are fears of more floods: a lake of rising water has formed at a site along the China-Nepal border - prompting fears it could burst its banks, reports Laura Bicker in Beijing

Live Reporting

Edited by Jay Savage, with reporting from BBC Nepali, Azadeh Moshiri in Kathmandu, and Laura Bicker in Beijing

  1. 'Looking for my sister through lists of missing people'

    Gabriela Pomeroy
    Live reporter

    Bhavesh Ramjee wears a blue dress and smiles at the cameraBhavesh Ramjee

    Bavika Ramjee has been out of contact since the flood hit, her brother Bhavesh says

    South African businesswoman Bavika Ramjee was “really excited and thrilled” to go on her first Hindu pilgrimage with the tour group Kailash Journeys.

    “It was life-long ambition,” her brother Bhavesh tells me from his home in East London, "as she is very spiritual and religious."

    But since the tour group reached the border between Nepal and Tibet on the same day the floods hit, they’ve been completely out of contact.

    Bhavesh says in a shaking voice: “We've been contacting the embassy, looking through lists of missing people, trying all avenues to get any information."

    "It's been awful," he says.

  2. Number of Australians missing rises to 39
    Breaking

    Simon Atkinson
    Australia reporter

    We've had an update from Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong that at least 39 Australians are among those reported missing - up from the 35 we were told yesterday.

    The additional four people were travelling separately to the organised tours we knew about earlier and Senator Wong says there is an "unfortunate possibility" that the number will rise.

    "I know this is an extremely distressing time for those who have loved ones unaccounted for and we are thinking of them," she tells the ABC.

    Australia will send three humanitarian response specialists "within the next 48 hours" to assist Australian staff already there, Wong added in a separate statement. The country has also pledged a A$5m (£2.65m) assistance package for affected communities.

    We know that among the missing Australians are two boys aged 11 and 14 who were travelling with their parents - among 15 Australians on a tour organised by Himalayan Glaciers US. That entire group of 47 is still to be accounted for.

  3. Red Cross volunteers 'on edge' over risk of secondary flood

    David Fisher, head of delegation for the Red Cross in Nepal

    David Fisher, head of delegation for the Red Cross in Nepal, tells BBC News that secondary flood warnings have put people "very much on edge".

    "People of course remain in shock from this terrible, terrible disaster," he says.

    Asked how it is impacting relief planning, he says Red Cross teams are going "truck by truck" and haven't brought in the vast bulk of goods from their Kathmandu warehouse yet.

    "What we’re most worried about is the danger to the lives of people who are still in the path of this potential future flood," he adds.

  4. Analysis

    Fears new lake of rising water in China could burst its banks

    Laura Bicker
    China correspondent

    A lake of rising water has formed at a site along the China-Nepal border prompting fears that it could burst its banks - just as rescuers try to find survivors after yesterday’s landslide.

    Chinese search teams in Tibet have spent the day assessing the risk of flooding near Gyirong port after a lake formed near the confluence of Nepal’s Chochen river and the Puruchangpo Zangbo river.

    They told state media that stabilising this body of water was a priority to keep rescue personnel on the ground safe.

    China’s Ministry of Water Resources has used modelling techniques to estimate how much water is in the lake and now say that with continued rainfall, there is a high risk it could burst within the next three days.

    The ministry said it will prepare for a potential breach and provide support for emergency rescue efforts.

  5. Hundreds missing on both sides of border, as death toll continues to rise

    A rescuer digs around in a pile of debris and mudGetty Images

    Since the floods first struck the region on Wednesday, the numbers of people killed and missing has continued to climb.

    Authorities in Nepal and state media in China - which governs Tibet - have been giving updates, although it's not clear if the figures overlap.

    Here's what we know, according to the most recent updates:

    In Nepal

    • The number of people killed in Nepal has risen to 389, Nepal police say
    • Meanwhile, 910 people are missing, according to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority
    • Among the missing are 517 foreign citizens, 44 members of the Nepal Army and 28 Nepal police officers

    In Tibet

    • Three people are confirmed to have died, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV
    • And 558 people are missing, with 260 foreign nationals among them, CCTV says

  6. Search for survivors continues for second night after deadly flash floods

    A boy looks at the devastation caused by flash flooding along the Trishuli River in Nepal's Nuwakot district, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026AP

    Rescue efforts are continuing for a second night in Nepal and Tibet, almost 48 hours after a catastrophic flash flood tore through the Himalayan border area.

    The number of people dead and missing has continued to climb since the flood first struck on Wednesday.

    More than 900 people are missing and at least 389 have died in Nepal, while three people are confirmed to have been killed in Tibet and more than 550 are unaccounted for. However, it's not clear if these figures overlap.

    Meanwhile, analysts and monitoring bodies are warning of the potential for further flooding in the area, where the significant damage to infrastructure is already hampering rescue and recovery operations.