More than 100 foreign trekkers stranded by floods in Nepal’s Manaslu region

More than 100 foreign trekkers were stranded in Nepal’s mountainous Gorkha district after flash floods washed away bridges and damaged trekking routes over the weekend, Online Khabar reported Monday, citing local authorities.

Five villagers, including two women, remain missing after a landslide between Lokpa and Chumling blocked the Budhi Gandaki River and triggered flooding downstream.

Nine Bangladeshi trekkers in Jagat village were awaiting possible helicopter evacuation, Bangladeshi trekker Md Shahadat Hossain told Anadolu Agency. He said more than 200 trekkers, including Nepalis, were sheltering safely in the village.

“We have been stranded in Jagat since yesterday. A flash flood came down from above the village and flowed through its lower part,” Shahadat said. He added that there had been no electricity since the previous day, communications with the outside world were disrupted and food supplies were running short.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the floods destroyed several bridges and damaged houses, two telephone towers and 50 electricity poles. It said 437 security personnel had been mobilised and four army helicopters were carrying out rescue operations.

At least 47 people had been evacuated by helicopter, the authority said. The Manaslu Circuit, near Nepal’s border with China, is a popular Himalayan trekking route, and October is among its busiest months.