Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that it had received no reports of casualties or injuries involving Sri Lankan nationals following the flash floods that devastated Nepal’s Rasuwa District.

Ministry Spokesman Thushara Rodrigo said the Sri Lankan Embassy in Nepal was expected to provide further information on the safety of Sri Lankan nationals as details emerged, Ada Derana reported. Hiru News carried the same position, saying no Sri Lankans had been reported among those affected by the floods and landslides.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Kathmandu later put the number of Sri Lankan nationals currently in Nepal at an estimated 85 to 100, including around 20 students who had arrived recently. Others are working with international organisations in the country.

What happened

The flood struck the Bhote Koshi River, which runs down from Tibet into Rasuwa on Nepal’s northern border. Ada Derana’s initial report described flood waves of eight to ten metres set off by an upstream avalanche and glacier outburst on the Tibetan side.

That account was revised during the day. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal told parliament that preliminary information indicated an earthquake struck the area at about 08:37 local time and triggered the avalanche, which in turn caused the flooding. He said teams were still verifying that sequence, and that China was also reporting heavy damage.

Border security posts at Timure and Rasuwagadhi were destroyed, with security personnel among the missing. A joint operation involving the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force is under way.

The reported death toll climbed sharply through Wednesday. Ada Derana’s filings moved from 17 dead to 31 and then to 95, with Hiru reporting 98 by late evening. Nepal’s Tourism Board identified 384 travellers as missing from the affected area — 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepalese — a figure Nepali police later revised upward.

Herath’s message

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said in a post on X that he was deeply saddened by the disaster.

“My thoughts are with all those affected, and especially with the families and communities enduring this difficult time. I commend the efforts of the Nepalese authorities and all personnel engaged in relief and rescue operations,” he said, according to Daily Mirror.

He added that Sri Lanka stood in full solidarity with the government and people of Nepal.

None of the three reports said whether Colombo had offered material assistance, or whether the Embassy had completed contact with all Sri Lankan nationals in the affected districts.

Sources