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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Hundreds Missing as Billions in Goods Feared Lost in Bhotekoshi Flood

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Hundreds of traders, drivers and customs-related workers remain unaccounted for six days after a flood struck Nepal’s Rasuwagadhi trade hub in Rasuwa.
  • Officials and traders say hundreds of containers may have been swept away, including 70 to 75 loaded containers carrying garments and other goods for the festive season.
  • Authorities have yet to establish the full human and commercial toll, with two bodies recovered and hundreds of people reported missing from Sindhupalchok.

Six days after the Bhotekoshi river flood tore through Nepal’s northern trade hub, traders are still trying to determine both who is missing and what was lost. The destruction at Rasuwagadhi customs has left the value of vanished cargo uncertain, with goods worth billions of rupees feared to have been buried or swept away.

At least 15 customs employees remain out of contact. Traders estimate that more than 300 container drivers and other workers may also be missing. A list compiled by the Nepal Trans Himalaya Border Commerce Association names 234 people from Sindhupalchok involved in trade, trekking and container transport. As many as 73 workers and drivers from Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality are among those unaccounted for.

The flood also struck a customs yard already damaged by flooding in 2025. Containers had been parked in scattered locations, making it difficult to determine how many were present when the river rose. “We don’t yet know how many loaded containers were in the customs yard, or how many empty ones were waiting to return to China,” said Ram Chandra Parajuli, the association’s general secretary. “With traders, workers and drivers still unaccounted for, we are struggling to establish even the basic numbers.”

We don’t yet know how many loaded containers were in the customs yard, or how many empty ones were waiting to return to China.

— Ram Chandra ParajuliThe general secretary of the Nepal Trans Himalaya Border Commerce Association described the difficulty of assessing the cargo losses.

The border route had become especially busy after the Tatopani crossing closed completely on June 15. Traders increasingly used Rasuwagadhi because the alternative route through Korala was longer and more difficult. Preliminary figures indicate that 70 to 75 containers had cleared customs and were due to travel to Kathmandu the day before the flood. The association said all were swept away.

The Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry has formed a subcommittee to assess the commercial losses. Its president, Buddha Raj Basnet, said the number of missing people from Sindhupalchok had reached 266. Two bodies have been recovered so far.

With traders, workers and drivers still unaccounted for, we are struggling to establish even the basic numbers.

— Ram Chandra ParajuliHe said the missing people had made it impossible to determine the scale of the disaster.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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