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Nine bodies have been recovered and 19 people have been reported missing after a devastating flash flood hit Rasuwa district on Tuesday.

One of the bodies was recovered from Chitwan tonight. 

According to the latest details provided by Nepal Police Headquarters, 19 people are reported missing. 

The body of Assistant Sub Inspector Lal Bahadur Shrestha, who was missing from Rasuwa after being swept away by the flood, was found on the banks of the Trishuli River at 15 Kilo, Chitwan.

Central Spokesperson of Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police Binod Ghimire said two policemen, six Chinese citizens and 11 civilians are missing. Similarly, 57 people have been rescued.

A 383-member police team was mobilized to rescue those affected by the flood. 

The flood swept away Miteri Bridge on the Nepal-China border, 24 containers, six trucks and 35 EV vehicles. 

The road from Dhunche to Timure has also been blocked. 

The dam of Rasuwagadhi Hydro and the yard of the Customs Office in Rasuwa have also been damaged.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has left for Rasuwa to inspect the damages caused by devastating floods in the Lhende Stream and the Bhotekoshi River along the Nepal-China border.

He is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka, and the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal.

Among others leaving for Rasuwa are Chief Secretary Eak Narayan Aryal, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song, Chief of Army Staff Ashok Raj Sigdel, Inspector General of Nepal Police Deepak Thapa, Inspector General of the Armed Police Force Raju Aryal, and Chief of the National Investigation Department Hutraj Thapa.

In the meantime, the reports from Rasuwa stated that 57 people were entrapped in the floods and landslides from the Lhende Stream last night. 

Among them, 30 were rescued by a Nepal Army helicopter. Eighteen people remain missing, including three police personnel: Lal Bahadur Shrestha, Munna Thakur, and Lokendra Bohora.

The District Administration Office, Rasuwa, confirmed that other missing individuals include Jipan Chaudhary, Santosh Dahit, Buddhiram Tharu, Laxmi Narayan Tharu, and Suresh Tharu from Bardiya, and Naresh BK from Baglung. Phurba Lama from Sindhupalchowk and two others: Govinda Moktan and Lokman Tamang whose addresses are yet to be confirmed. Among the missing are six Chinese nationals.

The Directorate of Public Relations of the Nepali Army stated that 294 army personnel from Dhading and additional troops from Rasuwa have been deployed in 17 locations to search for the missing.

Meanwhile, human body parts have been found in four separate locations along the Trishuli River that also experienced a severe flood last night.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Damodar Bhandari, reported that the flooding has caused significant damage to the under-construction dry port at Timure in Rasuwagadhi. Around 75% of the project, funded by the Government of China, had already been completed. The minister said the government will request China's assistance to restore the damaged facility.

Electric vehicles kept at the dry port are believed to have been washed away by the flood.

After the floods wreaked havoc in Rasuwa, an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Executive Committee is to be held at the Home Ministry at 1 pm today.

The Home Ministry has said that an emergency meeting of the Central Security Committee and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Executive Committee has been called to discuss the damage caused by the floods in Rasuwa.

Police have said that 16 people have gone missing and nine have been rescued after floods hit Bhotekoshi in Rasuwa on Tuesday morning.

The floods also washed away the Miteri Bridge that links the Nepal-China border.

At least 16 people have gone missing after being swept away by the floods.

According to Assistant Chief District Office Dhruva Prasad Adhikari, the missing include three Nepali policemen, three drivers, six Nepali workers, a driver and four Chinese workers.

He said that nine people trapped in the yard of the Rasuwagadhi Customs Office have been rescued.

The floods have also damaged infrastructure including charging stations along the border, the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, and also swept away cargo containers and electric vehicles at the customs yard.

Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality in Rasuwa district has received a modern ambulance to support humanitarian services for residents in project-affected areas. The ambulance aims to assist those injured in disasters and accidents, patients with serious illnesses, and pregnant women. Provided under the project’s community support program, it will be operated by the Haku Health Post, located in Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality-1. Another ambulance will soon be provided to Uttargaya Rural Municipality, also affected by the project.

The ambulance is expected to play a vital role in saving lives by ensuring timely transportation of the sick and injured to hospitals. The project is promoted by Nepal Water and Energy Development Company CEO Byong Su Min, who officially handed over the ambulance keys to Rural Municipality Chairperson Buchung Tamang during a ceremony in Haku on Monday.

The handover event was attended by ward chairpersons of Amachhodingmo-1 and 2, health center chiefs, Indigenous Peoples Council representatives, local residents, and others. At the event, Su Min stated that the well-equipped ambulance was provided to enhance emergency healthcare access in remote project-affected areas. “We believe this ambulance will be a milestone in ensuring timely medical access and expanding basic health services,” he said.

Chairperson Tamang emphasized that development projects succeed only through collaboration with local communities. He called for inclusive implementation, highlighting that local residents should be the first to benefit. He also noted that the ambulance will help bring modern healthcare to remote regions.

The ambulance was purchased in compliance with the National Ambulance Directive, and the Government of Nepal exempted its import from taxes. The total cost under the exemption was Rs 2.5m.

So far, the project has invested around Rs 170m in affected areas through its community support initiatives. These include education, health, drinking water, road infrastructure, cultural preservation, relief distribution, livelihood support, and income generation under its Social Support Program (SSP), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Indigenous Community Planning Program.

Led by Korean companies, the project involves constructing a dam and associated structures in Hakuma (Amachhodingmo-1) and an underground powerhouse in Uttargaya-1. Upper Trishuli-1 is the largest hydropower project under construction in Nepal with direct foreign investment, aimed at domestic energy consumption.

Main construction began in Dec 2021 and is progressing rapidly. Overall physical progress stands at 56 percent. The Korean firm Doosan Enerbility is responsible for engineering, procurement, and construction. The project is promoted by Nepal Water and Energy Development Company, with equity investments from Korea South-East Power Co (KOEN), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other partners.

The project is financed through 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity. Nine international financial institutions have committed $453.2m in loans, with the total project cost estimated at $647m (including interest during construction). The remaining amount has been raised through equity.

Upper Trishuli-1 will generate 1.53bn units of electricity annually—38.75 percent in the winter and 61.25 percent in the rainy season. The energy will be connected to Nepal Electricity Authority’s Trishuli-3B Hub Substation and integrated into the national grid. A power purchase agreement has been signed with the Authority.

Due to its proximity to the Kathmandu load center and its ability to generate 104 MW even during the high-demand winter months, the project is considered a key asset for Nepal’s energy sector. Completion is targeted for Feb 2027.

Police have arrested a woman with one kg of gold from Rasuwa on Saturday.

The arrestee has been identified as Pachemu Tamang (41) of Gosaikunda Rural Municipality-3, according to District Police Chief Subas Budhathoki.

Tamang was arrested by border security personnel while she was entering Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border crossing with the gold brought from Kerung.

The woman was found ill and was admitted to the Rasuwa Hospital for treatment.

Police said that further investigation into the case is underway.

A total of 159 cattle died due to lumpy skin disease in Rasuwa district.

The lumpy skin disease has been broken out in all five rural municipalities of the district. Among them, Gosainkunda Rural Municipality has seen the biggest loss of cattle.

As of now, lumpy skin disease killed 22 yaks and 41 cows of local species in six wards of Gosainkunda, said Livestock Technical Chief at Syafrubesi in the rural municipality, Suresh Badal.

“Efforts are underway to contain the outbreak of the infectious viral disease. Livestock technician' teams are being mobilized at wards”, he informed.

As many as 800 cattle have been infected with lumpy skin disease in Gosainkunda alone. Badal stressed the need to keep the infected cattle in isolation.

The disease has broken out due to the practice of keeping cattle free in open grazing land in highland areas, he said.

Lumpy skin has also caused a loss to the farmers of Naukunda, Kalika and Uttargaya Rural Municipalities of the district.

Technicians of the concerned rural municipalities in the district informed that as many as 1,500 infected cattle are being treated in other local level areas in the district, except Chhodingmo.

According to Kalika Rural Municipality livestock section chief, Buddhinath Neupane, a technical team has been deployed in the rural municipalities in the southern belt of Rasuwa for disease control.

As the infection has mostly affected oxen used for plough, it has direct bearing on the farmers in paddy plantation.

Information Officer at Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Expert Centre, Nuwakot, Dr Bablu Tharu, a total of 13,000 cows, oxen and yaks were infected with lumpy skin disease in Nuwakot and Rasuwa as of July 16.

"A report has come about the deaths of yaks in the Rasuwa highland due to lumpy skin disease", he said, adding, "Our team is heading to the highland to take stock of the situation there".

Dr Tharu further said that medicines have been sent to the lumpy skin infected areas for immediate relief. As many as 411 livestock died of the contagious disease in Nuwakot, he informed.