Kathmandu. Rasuwa: Eighteen people, including Nepalis and Chinese nationals, have gone missing in a flood at Lhende rivulet on the Nepal-China border in Rasuwa this morning.

Among those working at the customs yard at Rasuwagadhi border point, nine Nepalis, three police personnel working at the Area Police Office Timure and six Chinese have gone out of contact, said Apf Nepal’s Joint Spokesperson Shailendra Thapa.

The flood has also washed away the Miteri bridge connecting Nepal and China. Assistant Sub-Inspector Lal Bahadur Shrestha, 42, of Likhu Tamakoshi Gapa-4 of Ramechhap, Police Constable Munna Thakur, 24, of Pheta Gapa-1 of Bara and Police Constable Lokendra Bohora, 23, of Bungal Municipality-9 of Bajhang have gone missing in the flood.

Six Chinese nationals have also gone missing in the floods. Chinese citizens include 1) Yu Yue,2) Li Huaqing,3) Yang Chuan, 4) Yu Hai Hang, 5) You Xiao Qiu and 6) Jou Yong. They are all men. The details of the Chinese national are yet to be ascertained. The deceased have been identified as Jipan Chaudhary, 36, Santosh Dait, 35, Buddhiram Tharu, 25, Laxmi Narayan Tharu, 24, and Suresh Tharu, 30, of Bardiya, Narendra BK of Baglung, container driver Furwa Lama of Sindhupalchowk, Hilux jeep driver Govinda Moktan and Lokman Tamang.

The flood has washed away the Bailey Bridge on the Trishuli River under the Galchi Betrawati-Syafrubesi road section at Mailung of Uttargaya Gapa-1. The newly constructed concrete bridge near the site has been flooded with mud. The dam of Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project has been damaged.

At 4:30 am, six local workers working at the customs yard, one Chinese and one person each of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force who were trapped while involved in the rescue were rescued with the help of ropes. An electric vehicle charging station at Timure has also been damaged by the floods. About seven to eight electric vehicles at the charging station have been washed away.

Containers and coaches containing about eight÷ to nine goods have been washed away in the yard of the Customs Office, Rasuwa. The dam of Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Has also been damaged, said Assistant Spokesperson Thapa.

According to police, 20 people, including seven who were trained in disaster management under the command of District Armed Police Inspector Rabindra Dahal, had gone to timure via Syafrubesi as the road had cracked at various places.

Most parts of the Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi road section along the Pasang Lhamu Highway have been affected due to road erosion and landslides.