At least five New Zealanders have been reported missing following a flash flood and landslide hit the Nepal-China border that killed at least 160 people.
Former Honorary Consul of Nepal to Auckland Dinesh Khadka told RNZ Nepal Police had given him the names of five New Zealanders unaccounted for.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have yet to confirm the number.
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the images coming out of Nepal and China as “heartbreaking” and said New Zealand is in touch with Nepal authorities about New Zealanders who may be affected.
“My deep condolences to those affected and to impacted communities,” he wrote in a post on X.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters echoed his sentiments, saying New Zealand is “deeply concerned”.
Aid workers said entire settlements had been “wiped out”. Surveillance footage verified by AFP shows dozens of people running for their lives as a stories-tall surge of debris slammed into the Chinese side of a border area, tossing lorries and buses aside.
Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet border hub, reporting three dead and another 265 people missing.
Nepali police said that they had recovered 157 bodies after “devastating floods”, with officers “working to move families in flood-risk areas… to safer locations.”
In a post on social media, humanitarian organisation the Himalayan Trust said they were “deeply saddened” by news of the flood.
“The flood originated by the Tibetan border impacting the Bhote Koshi valley. This is in the Langtang region halfway between Mt Everest and Mt Annapurna.
“The scale of the loss is heartbreaking,” they wrote.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and with the Nepali rescue teams working in extraordinarily difficult conditions.”
– RNZ with additional reporting by AFP
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