The death toll from Wednesday’s devastating Bhotekoshi flood has reached 469, according to police, while hundreds of people remain missing as search teams scour the river system and downstream areas for survivors and bodies.

The flood struck Rasuwa and neighbouring districts of northern Nepal on Wednesday morning, sending a powerful surge of water and debris into the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. The disaster swept away homes, bridges, roads and other infrastructure, while leaving communities and travellers in some areas cut off from the rest of the country.

The full scale of the disaster remains unclear as authorities continue to reconcile casualty and missing-person reports from different districts.

Among those unaccounted for are large numbers of tourists and trekkers. The Nepal Tourism Board said on Thursday night that 667 tourists and travellers, including 127 Nepalis, were still missing in areas affected by the floods.

The board said it was continuing to verify the whereabouts of tourists and travellers who were in or passing through Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading when the floods struck on Wednesday morning.

Foreign nationals are among those missing. The board said 31 foreign nationals had been rescued from the affected areas, including one Indian, four South Koreans, two Americans, two Russians, two Italians, one Bulgarian and one Swiss national. The nationalities of the remaining 18 rescued people had not yet been confirmed.

The Tourism Board, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, tourist police and other tourism-sector agencies are collecting and verifying information about missing travellers.

They are also coordinating with travel agencies, trekking companies, guides, local authorities and security agencies in the search and rescue effort.

The Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been deployed for search, rescue and evacuation operations. Helicopters have been used to reach isolated areas and evacuate survivors, while ground teams continue searching riverbanks and downstream settlements.

The flood has also severely damaged transport links and other infrastructure in the region, complicating efforts to reach affected communities.

The cause of the sudden and destructive surge is still being investigated. The flood struck with little warning in the Himalayan foothills and rapidly pushed through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river system, leaving little time for people in vulnerable areas to escape.