Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène have issued a message of condolence following the catastrophic flash flooding that struck the Himalayan border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region this week, in a letter released by the Prince’s Palace.
In the message, the Sovereign said he and Princess Charlène wished to express their profound sorrow over the terrible disaster currently affecting the Nepal-Tibet border. He said that in these painful hours, his family and the people of Monaco join him in extending sincere condolences to the grieving families and expressing full solidarity with the Nepalese people and all those affected. He also paid tribute to the dedication of rescue teams working under particularly difficult conditions, and expressed hope that search operations would allow those still missing to be found as swiftly as possible.
The disaster struck on Wednesday, August 26, when a massive wall of mud and rock collapsed into the Bhote Koshi river system along the Nepal-China border, triggering catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepali side. The flood swept away the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, along with bridges, hydropower plants and stretches of the only overland road linking Kathmandu to Tibet. According to Nepal’s disaster authorities, the surge originated from a landslide of ice and rock in the Lhende Khola, a tributary feeding into the Bhote Koshi near the border, unleashing a wall of water that tore roughly 60 kilometres down the valley, through the trading village of Timure and the Langtang trekking hub of Syabrubesi, before reaching Trishuli Bazar further downstream.
As of the latest updates, authorities in Nepal have confirmed at least 353 deaths, with a further 826 people still reported missing, figures expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue. Nearly 400 travellers, many of them pilgrims bound for Mount Kailash, remain unaccounted for. In Tibet, Chinese state media has reported at least three deaths and 558 people missing. Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited one of the worst-affected areas in Gyirong Town, while Nepal’s government has evacuated thousands of residents from low-lying districts further downstream as authorities remain on alert for further flooding.
