Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

At least 94 dead in monsoon disasters in Nepal and India

Monsoon floods and landslides have killed at least 94 people across Nepal and India but officials fear that figure could rise sharply as rescuers search for dozens believed lost under mud and in submerged villages.

Authorities Sunday (13) upgraded the death toll from flash flooding across landlocked Nepal to 49 as the water kept rising, forcing thousands to flee for higher ground.


"Another 17 are missing. Search and rescue works are underway but the water levels have not declined yet," said Shankar Hari Acharya, the chief of Nepal's national emergency centre.

The Red Cross estimated a higher death toll of 53, with dozens more missing and injured, and thousands of homes destroyed.

In neighbouring India, a massive landslide in the mountainous north swept two passenger buses off a hillside and into a deep gorge, killing 45 people, an official said.

The coaches had stopped for a tea break around midnight Saturday (12) in Himachal Pradesh when tonnes of rock and mud cascaded down a mountainside.

Forty-five bodies have been recovered from the accident site in the Himalayan state, said Sandeep Kadam, a senior official at the scene, late Sunday.

But more were still missing somewhere at the bottom of the ravine, with soldiers and rescuers working into the night to reach those beneath the mud and rock.

"Around 200 metres of national highway washed away with two buses and more than 50 feared buried," said Indian army spokesman colonel Aman Anand, who was helping coordinate rescue efforts.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences and prayers for those affected by the accident.

"Pained by the loss of lives due to landslide-related accidents in HP's Mandi district," he posted on Twitter, using the acronym for Himachal Pradesh state.

The disaster followed days of heavy rain, which loosens the soil on steep hillsides and threatens villages at the foot of mountains every monsoon season.

Hundreds have died across India in torrential rain, floods and landslides since the onset of the wet season in April.

In Nepal the toll from this year's monsoon - which typically lasts from late June until the end of August - has already eclipsed last year, with more than 100 people confirmed dead.

Last weekend in the central lowlands, four girls from the same family drowned when they fell into a flooded roadside ditch.

Nepal's weather department warned that heavy rain was expected to continue for another day, following days of torrential downpours.

"There isn't a house without water," said Raghu Ram Mehta, a resident of the southern district of Sunsari which has suffered nine deaths, the highest of any district.

"Hundreds of families are taking shelter in local schools."

Footage aired on Nepali TV showed villagers wading through waist-high water with their belongings and using boats to reach higher ground.

Families perched on trees with young children overnight as flood waters swept away homes in a village in the southern district of Chitwan, local media reported.

In the popular jungle safari resort of Sauraha in Chitwan, hotels were forced to shift their guests to higher floors as water rushed in.

A hotel owner said they used elephants to transport tourists to the nearest open highway and airport to help them return to the capital Kathmandu.

Biratnagar airport in the eastern district of Morang was closed after being submerged in a metre of water, according to authorities at the international terminal.

"I have already instructed authorities concerned to rescue flood victims, move them to safer locations and immediately provide relief to them," prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said in a video recording Saturday.

More For You

Thunderstorms to Hit East & South-East England; Met Office

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption

Getty Images

Thunderstorms to hit East and South-East England as Met Office issues amber warning

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of eastern and south-eastern England, in effect from 20:00 BST on Friday to 05:00 on Saturday. The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north Norfolk.

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption, with flash flooding, power cuts, and hazardous travel conditions expected. The Met Office warns that flooding of homes and businesses is likely, and delays or cancellations to bus and rail services are possible due to surface water and lightning strikes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

Shergill and his accomplices were arrested on different dates in 2020

Photo for representation (iStock)

Crime boss who posed as male escort jailed for £20m cocaine plot

THE head of an organised crime group who claimed he was a male escort while masterminding an international operation to import cocaine into the UK has been sentenced to 21 years and three months in jail.

Kulvir Shergill, 43, from the West Midlands, told National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators he made a living through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and working as a personal trainer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Major Delays on M62 After Lorry Crash and Fuel Spill

Motorists are being advised to expect significant disruption

National Highways

Major delays on M62 after lorry crash causes fuel spill

Drivers are facing long delays on the M62 following a lorry crash near Warrington that led to a significant fuel spill on the carriageway.

The incident occurred when the lorry struck railings on a bridge on the A49 Newton Road, causing fuel to leak onto the motorway below. As a result, the M62 has been closed in both directions within junction 9, and the junction 8 eastbound entry slip road is also shut.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air-India-Phuket-Reuters

A view shows Air India flight AI 379 that had to make an emergency landing back at Phuket Airport, due to a note of a bomb threat discovered mid-air, in Phuket, Thailand, June 13, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Bomb threat forces Air India flight back to Thai island

AN AIR INDIA flight from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi returned to the Thai island on Friday after a bomb threat was discovered on board, according to Thailand’s airports authority.

The flight had taken off from Phuket and was en route to India when the pilot reported a possible threat and made an emergency landing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Air India crash: Black box found as India investigates London-bound flight disaster

INVESTIGATORS have recovered the black box from the site of Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick airport went down shortly after takeoff, killing at least 265 people, including those on the ground.

The aircraft issued a mayday call shortly before crashing into a residential area around lunchtime. The plane had barely lifted 100 metres from the ground before it came down, with its tailpiece left protruding from the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less