Search Continues for 19 Missing After Flooding in Nepal

Udumbara Udumbara
Jul 11, 2025 - 09:58 Updated: Jul 11, 2025 - 00:38
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Search Continues for 19 Missing After Flooding in Nepal
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Nepal authorities said on Wednesday that the search continues for 19 people missing after monsoon rains destroyed the bridge connecting the country with China, resulting in nine deaths.

The flash floods hit Rasuwa on early Tuesday morning, triggering landslides in the border area and washing away the China–Nepal Friendship Bridge at Rasuwagadi, which is 75 miles north of the capital, Kathmandu.

Facilities and goods located in the vicinity were severely damaged, including Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, an EV charging station, and a hydropower plant, according to local media outlet The Kathandu Post.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that among the 19 people missing, 13 were Nepali citizens and six were Chinese nationals.

The Chinese Embassy in Nepal said on Tuesday that the six Chinese and eight Nepalese who went missing were employees working at a China-backed project near the port.

As of Wednesday, rescue workers had found nine bodies, according to the Rasuwu District Administration Office.

Nepalese police members have been dispatched, so far rescuing 55 people, including four Indians and one Chinese, the office said.

Families of the deceased and missing persons will be provided with immediate relief, authorities announced during a Tuesday council meeting on the floods. People injured in the disaster will also undergo free treatment provided by Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population.

The Nepali government is still trying to determine the cause of the floods, as concluded in the council meeting on Tuesday.

The Friendship Bridge serves as the primary trade route, and its destruction has halted all traffic, forcing goods to be shipped via a longer alternative route from China to India and then delivered overland to Nepal.

Linking Kodar in Nepal’s Sindhupalchok District to Tibet’s Zhangmu in China, the Friendship Bridge was first constructed in 1964. It was the only bridge connecting the two countries in the 2010s and was closed down after sustaining heavy damage from earthquakes in 2015. The 110-meter bridge was rebuilt in June 2019 by Chinese companies.

Set against the backdrop of the Chinese Communist Party’s geopolitical ambitions, the bridge is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as One Belt, One Road, a multibillion-dollar program aimed at bolstering Beijing’s influence by building infrastructure worldwide. In December 2024, Nepal signed an agreement with China to carry out infrastructure projects under the BRI.
Critics have expressed concerns that BRI projects create unsustainable debt burdens for participating countries. They say that this is part of Beijing’s “debt-trap diplomacy,” where loans are offered to poorer nations that may struggle to repay them, ultimately giving the Chinese regime leverage or control over strategic assets.
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The monsoon season in Nepal typically lasts from June to September, bringing heavy rainfall to the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Exacerbated by glacial lake outbursts in Tibet, the sudden release of water can cause downstream flash floods in Nepal, according to a 2023 study published in Springer Nature.

The primary cause of casualties during the monsoon season is believed to be landslides. In the past decade, 1,296 people have died from landslides, compared to 539 deaths resulting from floods, according to local media outlet Khabarhub, citing official data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

“In the past, many people used to die in floods. But due to advances in forecasting, casualties have decreased. However, the same cannot be said for landslides,” geologist Subodh Dhakal told Khabarhub earlier this month. “The lack of an early warning system makes it difficult to prevent such disasters.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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