More than 100 foreign trekkers stranded in flood-hit region of Nepal, official says - Reuters

A pre‑dawn landslide on Sunday blocked the Budhi Gandaki River in Nepal’s Gorkha district, about 100 km west of Kathmandu, triggering flash floods that swept away bridges, hiking trails and hundreds of homes in the area. The sudden surge of water caused black, muddy sludge to flow downstream, damaging infrastructure and leaving several villages cut off.

More than 100 foreign trekkers were left stranded along the popular Manaslu trekking route after sections of the trail were washed away. The trekkers are dispersed at various points on the trail, unable to return to their starting points because the damaged sections make passage unsafe.

Bhuwan Raj Ojha, an official with the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, said that trekkers who wish to leave the area will need to be rescued, while those who prefer to continue can do so from locations that remain safe. He noted that restaurants and tea houses along the route are still operational and provide shelter for those remaining on the trail.

Rescue teams, including the Nepalese army, have so far evacuated 321 people, among them 12 foreign nationals, on Monday. The operation is set to continue on Tuesday as the river’s water level recedes and additional assessments of the affected zones are carried out.

National disaster authorities reported that five villagers remain out of contact after the flood’s debris washed away homes and damaged three hydroelectric plants in the district. No deaths have been reported in this latest incident.

The Budhi Gandaki River is a tributary of the Trishuli River, which lies downstream from another tributary that experienced a glacier collapse in August. That earlier disaster caused a catastrophic flood that killed 1,457 people and left thousands still missing, underscoring the region’s vulnerability to sudden hydrological events.