Dramatic new video footage has captured the moment hikers witnessed a giant glacier collapse in the Himalayas, an event that triggered catastrophic flash floods and mudslides across parts of Nepal and Tibet. The video, filmed by a Chinese tour guide in Tibet, shows large sections of ice breaking away from a ridge on Langtang Lirung peak, located on the Nepali side of the border.
Hikers reported hearing a loud crack before ice, rock, and debris plunged into the valley below, generating an enormous dust cloud. The collapse initiated a landslide that formed a lake in the valley. This lake eventually breached, sending a torrent of water and debris surging through the mountain river system towards the Gyirong border crossing. A second video shows debris rapidly descending the mountainside in the immediate aftermath, marking the beginning of the disaster. This footage, obtained and verified by The New York Times, offers one of the clearest views to date of the August 26 glacier collapse.
The disaster has resulted in a death toll of 676, with nearly 3,000 people still missing across Nepal and Tibet. Among the missing are over 500 foreign tourists, including 33 British nationals. Many foreign visitors are believed to have been in the vicinity of Rasuwagadhi, either on pilgrimages or trekking expeditions.
Search and rescue operations resumed on Saturday after being temporarily halted due to rain and fog. Helicopters returned to the most severely affected areas as weather conditions improved. A UK rapid deployment team arrived in Nepal on Saturday to provide support to British nationals and their families.
Authorities are closely monitoring two lakes situated upstream of the flood zone, warning that the risk of further flooding will persist until both lakes have fully drained. Satellite images taken since the event, described as a 'tsunami from the sky,' reveal that entire settlements in remote areas of Nepal and neighboring Tibet have simply vanished.
The Rasuwagadhi border crossing, located at one end of Friendship Bridge between Nepal and Tibet, was reached by a rescue team on Friday and found to be annihilated. Fresh satellite images underscore the scale of the destruction, showing settlements completely washed away by the torrent of mud and water that descended along the Trishuli River. The Gyirong region crossing, a key point for pilgrims accessing the Langtang valley and tourists, captured some of the earliest and most distressing footage of the flood.
CCTV footage depicted people fleeing just before the water and mud engulfed a large building at the crossing. The crossing, along with its extensive rear car park, Friendship Bridge, and all associated structures, has been obliterated, leaving only the river and surrounding greenery. A Chinese rescue team was the first to reach the site, reporting they found 'nothing but ruins.'
According to state media, the Chinese team of 21 rescuers and a search-and-rescue dog arrived at Rasuwagadhi and described the scene as 'all virgin forest and sheer cliffs' with 'nothing but ruins' as far as the eye could see. The team navigated forests and valleys using ropes to reach the area, believed to be among the most severely impacted. The crossing is a location where many of the missing tourists are feared to have been. British care agency boss Leena Bector, 53, from Slough, Berkshire, was last heard from just an hour away from the site.
Images also show bridges crossing the Trishuli River and small settlements on its banks completely destroyed. Photos of the village of Syapru Besi prior to the flood show a vibrant community situated around a river fork. Post-flood images reveal that much of the village has been washed away, with only a few houses further from the river surviving. A significant deposit of mud and silt indicates the extent to which the torrent overflowed its banks. A bridge just south of the village has also been completely destroyed. Construction sites, camping areas, and footbridges have met a similar fate. While some structures set back from the river survived, the surrounding landscape has been drastically altered, with large areas of trees and forest disappearing compared to earlier images.