Key highlights
- 33 British nationals, including a 13-year-old girl, are missing after flash floods and mudslides struck Nepal's Rasuwa region near the Tibet border.
- Nepal's death toll has risen to at least 162, with 826 people reported missing, including more than 529 tourists.
- Britain is working with Nepalese authorities to trace the missing nationals, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged support and urged Britons in the region to follow local guidance.
- Hundreds of foreign nationals are also missing, including 130-133 Indians, 34 Australians, at least 47 Americans, 24 Canadians and nationals from Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Rescue efforts remain hampered by poor weather.
Thirty-three British nationals are among hundreds of people feared missing after flash floods and mudslides devastated the Nepal-Tibet border region, with the youngest missing Briton a 13-year-old girl.
The floods struck the Rasuwa region on Wednesday morning, and Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said at least 162 people have died, with 826 people missing overall, including more than 529 tourists.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was in direct contact with local authorities and would "do everything we can" to support British nationals caught up in the disaster, urging those still in the region to follow local guidance and UK travel advice. The Foreign Office said it was working closely with Nepalese authorities "following concerning reports of British nationals who are missing" and encouraged Britons to stay alert to the fast-changing situation.
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden described the disaster as "an appalling tragedy". He said the UK had not yet received figures from the Chinese side of the border, and indicated Britain was likely to help fund Nepal's response. "It's in every country's interest to do this," he told Sky News, noting several other nations had already offered support.
Rescuers use an excavator to transport a flood survivor, following flash floods and a landslide disaster in Devghat, in the Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026Getty Images
Excursion firm Alpine Eco Trek said it had lost contact with a group of 12 Britons booked on a tour to Mount Kailash, along with four of its own Nepali guides, when the floods hit. Attempts to charter a rescue helicopter failed because of poor conditions.
Manager Kumar Adhikari told BBC he last heard from his guides at 8.40am, shortly before they were due at Tibet's immigration office, and has since been unable to reach them.
"We were hoping that inside it was safe," he said, "but later the video came from China's government which showed even Tibet's side was hit by the flood." Adhikari said he had passed clients' passport details to the British consulate but had little further update to offer anxious families. "I feel so sad. We are just thinking about what to do next... We are in pain at the moment, deep pain."
Hundreds of foreign nationals unaccounted for
Britons are far from the only foreign nationals caught up in the disaster. Tourism officials said more than 400 of the 579 missing tourists were foreign nationals. India's junior foreign minister told ANI that between 130 and 133 Indians were unaccounted for, while Australia's foreign minister said 34 Australians were missing and being traced with Nepalese assistance.
The Associated Press reported at least 47 US citizens missing, while a spokesman for the Nepalese embassy in Canada put the number of missing Canadians at 24. Malaysia's foreign ministry said it had lost contact with at least 11 citizens in the affected area.
In South Korea, the foreign ministry said nine nationals working at a hydropower plant were missing and a further ten stranded, and Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said Tokyo's embassy in Nepal had been unable to reach five Japanese citizens and had requested a search.
Hindu pilgrims among those missing
Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru said scores of pilgrims from around the world were among those unaccounted for. In a video message posted from Tibet, he said 77 pilgrims had been at the Nepal-China border immigration office when the flood struck on Wednesday. "We have no official information... but looking at the scale of destruction, it looks bad," he said, adding that the building where his group had passed through immigration only a week earlier had been washed away, along with part of the surrounding town.
The pilgrims were travelling with Hindu groups organised by Sadhguru's Isha Foundation as part of the annual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, which is jointly organised by India's foreign ministry and Chinese authorities.
Two further tour operators reported large numbers of missing guests and staff. Himalayan Glacier US said it had lost contact with 47 guests and staff en route to Mount Kailash, including two British citizens, while Kailash Journeys said a group of 27 guests and staff had not been heard from since early Wednesday morning local time; a list of names it provided to the BBC included two British men.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by ongoing poor weather, which has prevented helicopters from reaching some of the worst-affected areas. Nepalese authorities said the search for survivors, alongside efforts to establish contact across the Chinese border, was continuing.
