Rescue workers in Nepal have successfully extracted 350 individuals from a mud-saturated hydropower tunnel following a devastating mudslide. Efforts are ongoing to evacuate an additional 100 people still trapped within the tunnel in the Rasuwa district.
Nepal's Prime Minister’s Office released dramatic video footage showing rescue teams pulling trapped citizens through the tunnel. The office also reported that 533 residents were moved to safety from flooded areas. The disaster, which struck the valley in the Rasuwa district in northern Nepal and also affected China's Tibet province, has left at least 538 people confirmed dead, according to estimates from the Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and Nepal Police. The number of people unaccounted for in Nepal has reached approximately 1,924.
On the Chinese side of the border, authorities reported five confirmed fatalities and 558 missing individuals. The U.S. State Department indicated that around 90 Americans are among the missing.
President Donald Trump described the event as a "brutal" mixture of mud and water that obliterated buildings. The natural disaster is believed to have been triggered by a large ice rock impacting the Lhende Khola River, likely following an earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS stated that a catastrophic debris flow and flood was likely initiated by a glacial collapse in Langtang National Park on August 26, 2026. This debris flow traveled nearly 100 kilometers, impacting populated areas downstream along the Trishuli and Bhote Koshi Rivers and destroying infrastructure, including a vital highway connecting China and Nepal.
