'Swept away': Hundreds missing in Nepal after deadly flash floods

More than 150 people are dead and hundreds of people, including dozens of Americans, were missing on Aug. 26 after flash flooding in the Himalayan nation of Nepal, the country's tourism board reported.

The flash flood took place about 8:30 a.m. local time in the Bhote Koshi River in the country's northern Rasuwa district near China's Tibet border, authorities said.

Horrifying surveillance video circulating online shows people fleeing before the mudslide hits and a deluge crashes down on them. Drone footage also shows flooding devastation along the river as mud and waters engulf riverside communities.

So far, local police have reported 157 deaths connected to the disaster.

Initially, at least 384 travelers, including 291 foreign nationals, had been reported missing, the Nepal Tourism Board posted on social media.

"It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us. As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife's hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud," Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor who was being treated at a hospital, told Reuters. "Four or five hours later, a helicopter came to rescue me. My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud. She's gone."

Americans missing after flash flood in Nepal

Sunil Sharma, a Nepal tourism board spokesperson, told the Toronto Star the missing foreigners include 47 Americans, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada.

Officials said they were working to confirm the nationalities of hundreds of other tourists who remained missing as well as their "safety status."

"The State Department is aware of Americans impacted by the floods in Nepal and is closely tracking the situation," Reuters reported, citing a U.S. State Department spokesperson.

Many households in Rasuwa and Nuwakot are believed to have lost their homes or suffered significant damage, while damage to bridges and roads is also making it extremely difficult to reach some affected communities, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told USA TODAY in an email.

Nepal Red Cross teams were deploying to affected areas and have begun providing initial assistance, including water, shelter materials, blankets and first aid supplies, the agency said.

"The news of the loss of lives and property caused by the sudden flood in the Bhote Koshi River flowing through Rasuwa and Nuwakot has left me extremely saddened," Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudell said in a statement on X. "I urge everyone to remain vigilant and actively engage in necessary coordination and cooperation in the lower coastal areas."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Reuters

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.