BBC Verify has authenticated two drone videos that appear to capture the moment a glacier collapsed in the Himalayas, providing new visual evidence about what may have triggered the deadly floods that swept through Nepal and Tibet this week.
A massive glacier collapse high in the Himalayas has been captured on drone video, offering new clues to what triggered the devastating floods that swept through Nepal and Tibet this week.
The footage, authenticated by BBC Verify, shows a landslide near the Langtang Lirung peak, more than 7,200 metres above sea level, with huge plumes of dust rising from the snow-covered mountains. The location of the videos matches the direction of the floodwater that later surged down the Trishuli river system, according to BBC Verify.
The footage provides striking visual evidence of the collapse as scientists and authorities piece together how falling ice and rock may have temporarily blocked a river before unleashing the deadly deluge downstream.
How did the glacier collapse trigger the floods?
Scientists are still piecing together the sequence using satellite imagery, seismic data and ground-level information.
One emerging explanation is that a large mass of ice and rock fell into the Lhende River and temporarily blocked its flow, creating a natural landslide dam. When that barrier gave way, water and debris may have surged downstream into the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said preliminary assessments by experts and official institutions in China and Nepal indicated that the disaster “may have been triggered by the collapse of a high-altitude glacier in Nepal”, news agency PTI reported.
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Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has also identified an ice-and-rock avalanche as the leading explanation, while an assessment by the US Geological Survey pointed to a glacier collapse and debris flow, according to the material supplied.
The US Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse, based on seismic data and satellite imagery. News agency Associated Press reported that scientists were continuing to examine the precise chain of events.
The initial theories had included a glacial lake outburst flood, or GLOF, and an avalanche. The evidence now emerging is increasingly focused on a glacier collapse followed by a temporary river blockage and sudden release of water and debris.
Death toll rises as rescue teams search for missing
The floods devastated communities and infrastructure on both sides of the Nepal-China border. Nepal’s disaster authorities have reported hundreds of deaths and hundreds of people missing, while China has reported five deaths and hundreds of people missing in Tibet. The figures have changed rapidly as rescue teams reach areas that were previously cut off.
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🌊 Disaster · Nepal · Tibet · Missing Persons
Nepal floods: 2,426+ missing as rescuers search cut-off areas
Catastrophic floods and landslides struck Nepal and neighbouring Tibet. Roads and bridges are destroyed. Nationals from 33 countries are among those missing.
626
🇳🇵 Dead in Nepal
Updated Aug 29
2,426+
Missing Nepal & Tibet
596
Foreign nationals missingNepal FM Thu list · Police Fri: 644
3,700+
People airlifted in Nepal
📸 Gyirong Port & Rasuwagadhi — before & after the flood
Apr. 19, 2024Gyirong Port area — border crossing intact, river and road visible
Aug. 27, 2026Border post buried — entire area submerged under debris
Before-and-after satellite views of the China–Nepal border area around Gyirong Port and Rasuwagadhi, after the flash flood. Imagery: Vantor · Comparison built with Knight Lab JuxtaposeJS. The two frames are 28 months apart; some change visible between them predates the August 2026 flood.
⚠️
Three separate datasets — do not add them together. Nepal foreign ministry list · India MEA contacts · China/Tibet government figures. Each covers a different population, location and stage of verification.
🇮🇳 India — the numbers explained
🇮🇳
Indians affected — three different figures
Each comes from a different source and stage of verification
Still missing — MEA latest (Aug 29)
Covers both Nepal and Tibet sides
~320
Uncontactable — India's MEA
Located, awaiting evacuation
400+
Crossed into Nepal by land
Confirmed crossed as of Aug 29
96
❓ Why are the Nepal and India figures different?
India's MEA (Aug 29) reports ~320 nationals missing — this covers both Nepal and Tibet. Separately, 400+ Indians are located but stranded on the Chinese side, and 96 have crossed back into Nepal. Nepal's Foreign Ministry's Thursday list recorded 167 Indians missing in Nepal only. The MEA's wider figure reflects a tracking exercise covering the entire border zone and has been revised upward as more people were accounted for or reported missing.
🇮🇳 India — MEA data (Aug 29)
🇮🇳 Indians still missing
~320
🇮🇳 Stranded but safe — China side
400+
🇮🇳 Crossed into Nepal by land
96
⚠ MEA vs Nepal FM — why figures differ
India's MEA figure (~320 missing) covers Indians on both sides of the Nepal–Tibet border and has been revised upward. Nepal's Foreign Ministry Thursday list showed 167 Indians missing in Nepal only. These are separate datasets — do not compare directly.
Also missing — 33 countries total
🇰🇷S. Korea
9
🇸🇬Singapore
8–9
🇩🇪Germany
8
🇷🇺Russia
8
🇿🇦S. Africa
6
🇱🇻Latvia
6
🇯🇵Japan
5
🇳🇿New Zealand
5
🇫🇷France
4
🇧🇪Belgium
3
🇪🇸Spain
3
🇮🇹Italy
2
🇨🇳 China & Tibet — a separate crisis
🇨🇳 China/Tibet figures — different location, different dataset
~100
Chinese nationals missing on Nepal side (China FM)
554
Missing in Gyirong County, Tibet (CCTV)
260
Foreigners among those missing in Gyirong
⚠ These figures cover different locations and categories. The Nepal and Tibet counts should not be added together. Tibet: 7 dead, 554 missing (Aug 29, Tibet emergency dept). Of 554 missing in Tibet, 260 are foreign nationals — nationalities not yet released.
⚠ The danger isn't over — upstream lake risk
🌊
Newly formed upstream lake — risk of another flood
💧
~2 million cubic metres accumulated
A barrier lake formed at the confluence of Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, accumulating ~2 million cubic metres. China issued a Level-IV alert on Thursday.
⬆️
Lake level fell 10m by Friday — risk reduced but monitoring continues
By late Friday, monitoring data from China's Ministry of Water Resources showed the lake had dwindled — water level dropped 10 metres (32 ft) from the Thursday peak. A five-person monitoring post has been set up for continuous observation.
Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet (Nepal Army) said helicopter operations were on hold Saturday due to poor weather. More than 14,000 security personnel have been mobilised. Rescuers reached Gyirong by foot, raft and drone. Over 100 people believed trapped in a mud-filled tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa.
📊 Reading these numbers
Nepal NDRRMA (Aug 29): 626 dead, 2,426 missing, 3,700+ rescued. Nepal Police (Fri): 644 foreign nationals missing. Tibet Emergency Dept (Aug 29): 7 dead, 554 missing (260 foreigners). India MEA (Aug 29): ~320 Indians still missing across both sides; 400+ stranded safe on China side; 96 crossed into Nepal. Nepal FM Thursday list: 167 Indians missing in Nepal only. These are separate datasets — totals must not be added.
Sources: Nepal NDRRMA · Nepal Police · India MEA · Tibet Emergency Management Dept · AP · PTI · Reuters · China FM. Figures as of Aug 29, 2026. All preliminary.
The floods destroyed roads, bridges and power infrastructure along a route connecting Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet. The corridor is also used by trekkers and pilgrims travelling towards the region.
More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal, according to the latest Associated Press update in the supplied material, while thousands of security personnel have been deployed in the search-and-rescue operation.
New lake creates another flood threat
The disaster has also created a fresh danger. A lake formed after debris blocked a river upstream had accumulated millions of cubic metres of water. News agency Reuters reported that the volume had risen above 2.5 million cubic metres before the lake overflowed into the Bhotekoshi River.
The development triggered warnings for people living downstream and briefly disrupted rescue operations. Nepal halted rescue operations for about 90 minutes before restarting them, according to Reuters. Chinese rescue personnel and vehicles were also moved to safer ground before operations resumed after authorities assessed the risk as manageable.
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The new threat has complicated an already difficult operation in areas where roads and bridges have been destroyed, and some communities remain accessible only by helicopter.
Around 320 Indians remain uncontactable
The disaster has a significant Indian dimension because the affected region is used by tourists and pilgrims travelling towards Tibet, including those visiting Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.
The External Affairs Ministry said around 320 Indian nationals remained uncontactable. It said 96 Indians stranded on the Chinese side had crossed into Nepal by land and that efforts were continuing to evacuate those affected.
China has also deployed rescue teams to the worst-hit areas around Gyirong. Chinese state media said more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of tourists, had been evacuated from the county.
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