Three Italians untraceable after deadly floods strike Nepal-Tibet border region
Rescuers in Nepal are searching for three missing Italian citizens, including 50-year-old jeweler Marco Ratto, after flash floods and debris flows along the border with Tibet left hundreds dead and over 1,500 unaccounted for.
Flash floods strike the Nepal-Tibet border
On Wednesday, 26 August 2026, flash floods and debris flows struck the Himalayan river valleys along the border between Nepal and China. The disaster, possibly caused by the collapse of a glacier, swept through the Gyirong crossing and the valleys of the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. Official tallies and agency reports indicated heavy casualties, with sources reporting over 300 deaths and 1,500 people missing along the border with Tibet, in addition to 644 people missing in the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin. Torrential waters and debris wiped out mountain villages and roads, disrupting transit between Kathmandu and Tibet.
- Flash floods and debris flows strike the Himalayan border region between Nepal and Tibet
- Nepalese military helicopters evacuate survivor groups while Italian crisis units locate most untraceable citizens
- The Italian Foreign Ministry confirms three citizens remain untraceable as searches continue
Search for Marco Ratto and missing Italians
The Italian Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday that three Italian citizens remained untraceable following the disaster, after tracing roughly a dozen individuals earlier in the day. Among the missing is Marco Ratto, a 50-year-old goldsmith and watchmaker from Rapallo near Genoa, who was traveling solo toward Tibet after departing Italy after Ferragosto. Communications with Ratto ceased at the Gyirong border crossing, where both Chinese and Nepalese travel agencies confirmed they had lost contact. The other two untraceable travelers are an Italian-Swiss couple journeying from Tibet into Nepal.
His brother-in-law, Andrea Bernardin, described the family's wait for information from consular officials.
We are dismayed and speechless. We're in contact with the Farnesina, but we have no news at the moment. Marco was in that very area.
Survival and evacuation at Gyirong
While search operations continued in the flood zone, an eight-person travel group including two Italian nationals survived the disaster near the border. Stefano Lotumolo, a 39-year-old photographer from Lucca, and Valentina Piccinini from Turin were traveling toward Mount Kailash for a photography and spiritual pilgrimage. Their group was stationed twenty meters from the path of the landslide when a surge of mud swept through the valley, destroying other buses in the convoy. Passengers escaped their vehicle seconds before it was carried away, spending the night on higher ground with local residents before Nepalese military helicopters evacuated them to Kathmandu on Thursday.
Lotumolo described the moment the debris wave struck the valley road.
We were on the bus, about 20 meters from where the disaster occurred. Ten meters from us we saw a gigantic wave of mud and debris coming from the mountain. There was a terrible roar. We understood immediately that something was happening.
Local coordination and monitoring in Liguria
In Rapallo, local authorities and residents monitored the crisis closely as the Ratto family jewelry store in Piazza Cavour remained closed. Rapallo Mayor Elisabetta Ricci and former mayor Carlo Bagnasco remained in frequent communication with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to receive operational updates from the crisis unit. Genoa Metropolitan Mayor Silvia Salis also coordinated with national officials regarding the search. The Foreign Ministry noted that figures released by Nepalese tour operators remain provisional as search teams continue to access remote crossing points.
Mayor Ricci commented on the ongoing monitoring efforts in Liguria.
I am following with deep apprehension the news arriving from Nepal regarding our fellow citizen about whom there is no news following the devastating floods that hit the area.
