Nepal-Tibet flood deaths rise to 389 amid search for hundreds of missing tourists
The Nepal Tourism Board announced that 66 Americans are missing, with 2 rescued.
LONDON -- At least 389 people have been confirmed killed in the massive flash flooding that ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, emergency authorities in Nepal and China said. More than 1,300 people remained missing as of Thursday morning, authorities said.
As search and rescue efforts continued in Nepal on Thursday, Nepali police said that at least 389 bodies had been recovered. At least 466 injured people have been rescued, police said.
At least 826 people -- among them 579 tourists, of whom 476 are foreign nationals and 114 Nepali nationals -- were still out of contact as of Thursday morning, the Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.
Across the border in the Chinese region of Tibet, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday that three people were confirmed killed with 558 others still missing, citing local officials.
The number of those considered missing fluctuated significantly as recovery efforts accelerated. The Nepal Tourism Board said that 66 Americans were among the missing as of Thursday evening.
The State Department said on Thursday morning that it was aware of approximately 90 Americans impacted by the floods and confirmed that three American citizens were safely rescued. The department said it is not aware of any American deaths.
The tourism board said on Thursday that two Americans were among a group of 27 foreign tourists rescued from the Timure and Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa.
The flooding, captured in dramatic video footage, occurred in the northern Rasuwa district, along the border with Tibet, at around 8:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday, authorities said, inundating areas along the Trishuli River, burying some buildings and damaging bridges and roadways.
In a statement, Nepal's office of the prime minister expressed "deep sorrow" over the loss of life. "Offering heartfelt tribute to all those who lost their lives in this natural disaster, it extends its sincere condolences to the bereaved families and relatives," the statement shared on social media said.
The prime minister's office later said search and rescue operations carried out by the Nepali Army would continue through the night.
The State Department said the number of Americans among the missing and otherwise impacted by the floods fluctuated throughout the day on Wednesday.
"The United States extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the devastating flash floods in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster," a department spokesperson said in a statement issued later Wednesday.
The spokesperson said the State Department is "closely monitoring the situation and is deploying a disaster response advisor to the region to support response efforts. The Department will also provide $500,000 in assistance through its global award with Catholic Relief Services, supporting emergency shelter, relief items, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance to flood-affected communities."
"We've offered our help and our assistance, but of course, the first priority for this president and for Secretary Rubio will always be Americans," Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, told Fox News on Thursday. "We're focused on rescuing every American that we possibly can."
An Indian spiritual leader and entrepreneur, known as Sadhguru, said in a post to social media that 77 people who were on tours organized by his Isha Foundation were at an immigration center at the Nepal-Tibet border when the floodwaters hit.
The Isha Foundation confirmed to ABC News that 22 of those 77 people were Americans. The organization, which is headquartered in India, also has a base in McMinnville, Tennessee. The group's coordinator told ABC News the organization has been in touch with family members in the U.S.
Three missing Americans were listed as traveling with a Nepali company called Fishtail Tours and Travel. The agency confirmed to ABC News that three American nationals are among the missing tourists traveling with them.
The flood was reportedly triggered by a landslide about 12 miles northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border post along the Nepal-China frontier, according to Nepal Disaster Management.
A 5.2-magnitude landslide was registered in Nepal on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The seismic activity from the landslide was initially erroneously reported as a 4.4-magnitude earthquake, the agency said. It is unclear what triggered the landslide.
A geophysicist at New York's Columbia University told ABC News it appeared a landslide in the Himalayas took away a large glacier, or parts of one, in the mountain pass.
The initial location of the glacier was a cliff about 16,000 feet high. The debris avalanche, or landslide, slid down 6,000 feet on the slope, the USGS said.
While it will take time to find how severe the landslide was, the USGS estimated that more than a 100 million cubic meters of ice rock and debris were displaced in this geophysical event, Ben Mirus, a research geologist with the agency said Thursday.
Flooding traveled over 100 kilometers, the USGS said.
ABC News' Desiree Adib, Somayeh Malekian, Charlotte Gardiner, Shannon Kingston, Ivan Pereira, Daniel Manzo, Joseph Simonetti, Dada Jovanovic, Meghan Mistry and Othon Leyva contributed to this report.
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