Search Ongoing for Hundreds of Lost Travelers After August 26 Landslide at Gyirong

Gyirong, August 30 – Rescue teams continue to hunt for 261 foreign travelers who disappeared following the August 26 landslide at Gyirong Port on the Tibet‑Nepal border. Among the missing are 49 Indian nationals and citizens from 22 additional countries. The figures were announced at a press briefing by the regional information office, where officials from foreign affairs, public security, culture and tourism, and disaster management ministries presented the consolidated data. The breakdown lists 104 Nepalese, 49 Indians, 33 Latvians, 18 Americans, 15 British, six Canadians, six Australians, four South Africans, three Malaysians, three Germans, three Russians, two Irish, two Estonians, two French, two Dutch, two New Zealanders, and one each from Kazakhstan, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Ukraine, Spain and Hungary. Chinese diplomatic channels have been notified, and embassies in Beijing have been briefed. So far, thorough on‑site examinations and multiple search phases have not uncovered any foreign tourists trapped in Gyirong County. In Nepal, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reports 675 recovered bodies and 2,498 people still unaccounted for. The tourism ministry added that as of 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, 753 tourists – 589 foreigners – remained out of contact. Authorities have appealed for humanitarian aid to support victims in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts. The rapid rise of the Bhote Koshi River has caused extensive flooding, destroying infrastructure and resulting in a high death toll.