Nepal opens emergency channel as foreign nationals remain missing
Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a dedicated emergency channel on August 27, 2026, for foreign nationals affected by the August 26 Bhote Koshi River flash flood in Rasuwa, as families and governments continued seeking information about people who remained missing.
The ministry said it had established an Emergency Control Room with immediate effect. In the notice, it described the Emergency Response Team, or ERT, as the ministry’s central coordinating body for search-and-rescue information, verification and consular assistance involving foreign nationals affected by, missing in or otherwise connected to the flood.
What the emergency team does
The ERT is intended to coordinate search-and-rescue information, verify reports and facilitate consular assistance. Nepal’s foreign ministry asked diplomatic missions, international organizations, families of missing people and members of the public to submit relevant information through the official channels.
The ministry also warned people not to circulate unverified information and urged the public to rely on official updates. That caution is significant because rescue, identification and missing-person reporting are still developing.
How to contact Nepal’s response team
Families and organizations seeking information about a foreign national connected to the flood can call or use WhatsApp to contact the ERT at +977-9744441227 or +977-9744441228. The ministry listed the services as operating from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The ministry also provided emergency@mofa.gov.np and advised people to contact the nearest Nepali diplomatic mission. Reports should include identifying details and any available information about the person’s last known location.
Contacting the ERT does not guarantee an immediate confirmation, rescue or resolution. Its stated role is to coordinate information, verification and consular assistance while search operations continue.
Official figures remain provisional
In a separate August 27 situation update, Nepal’s foreign ministry described damage from the Bhote Koshi flash flood to homes, roads, bridges, hydropower facilities and other infrastructure.
The ministry reported that 359 bodies had been recovered and that 596 people from 33 countries remained missing as of that update. It said the figures were subject to verification.
Those numbers should not be treated as a final death toll or a final list of missing people. Bodies recovered are not necessarily identified victims, and missing-person reports can change as rescuers reach affected areas, records are checked and families provide additional information. The ministry also said many local residents and tourists remained missing, so the foreign-national figure does not represent everyone unaccounted for.
Why reports may differ
Independent reporting by the Associated Press and Reuters confirmed that people from multiple countries were among those missing and that families and governments were seeking information. Those reports also covered the wider Nepal-China disaster area, including Tibet, and used different time frames or geographic scopes from Nepal’s ministry update.
The Nepal Red Cross Society reported a separate set of operational figures on August 27, including 165 bodies found but not yet identified, 826 people still missing in its cited situation report and 579 people reported missing from affected areas in a preliminary aviation-related count. The Red Cross also said 123 people, including 29 foreign nationals, had been airlifted from Tamure in Rasuwa. These figures reflect a different report and stage of verification and should not be combined with the foreign ministry’s figures.
What happens next
Search and rescue, identification, verification and consular coordination remain underway. Travelers, relatives, tour operators and diplomatic officials should use Nepal’s ERT, the nearest Nepali mission and other official channels rather than relying on unverified posts or informal lists.
Further updates may revise both the number of people reported missing and the number of bodies recovered as authorities continue checking information from the flood zone.
Sources
- Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Emergency Control Room notice
- Associated Press — Nepal-China flood missing-person report
- Nepal Red Cross Society — Situation Report #2
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