Overview
- A glacier‑and‑rock collapse on Wednesday unleashed a fast-moving surge of ice, mud and boulders down the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors, sweeping away villages and infrastructure.
- Authorities report about 586 confirmed deaths and roughly 2,478 people missing across Nepal and Tibet, with hundreds of foreign pilgrims and about 320 Indian nationals uncontactable.
- Nepal has mobilised more than 15,000 security personnel and helicopters and says thousands have been rescued while India, China, South Korea and others have dispatched rescue teams, supplies and consular support.
- Rescue work was briefly halted when debris blocked rivers and formed upstream barrier lakes that Chinese officials say hold around 2 million cubic metres and could rise further, raising the risk of new uncontrolled breaches.
- Destroyed roads, bridges and hydropower tunnels are forcing heavy reliance on helicopters for access, overflowing morgues as bodies wash downstream, and a likely multibillion‑dollar rebuilding effort plus expanded glacier monitoring.