Floods kill 22 in central Nepal, leave 384 tourists missing including 8 Koreans

Massive floods struck central-northern Nepal on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and leaving more than 380 tourists missing.

Eight South Koreans at the site have lost contact, while 10 others are stranded and awaiting rescue.

Nepal police and the tourism authority said the floods hit the Bagmati Province area of central-northern Nepal at around 9 a.m. (local time) Wednesday, killing 22 people and leaving 384 tourists missing — 291 of them foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens, according to Reuters.

Of the missing foreigners, 105 were Indian nationals, authorities added.

Sunil Sharma, a spokesperson for Nepal's tourism authority, said the missing foreign tourists came from multiple countries, including India, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said eight South Korean employees of Korea South-East Power (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility, who had been working on a hydropower plant construction project, lost contact following the floods.

Ten other South Koreans affiliated with Doosan Enerbility are also stranded at the site awaiting rescue. The Nepali government has deployed helicopters to the scene.

The affected area lies about 120 kilometers north of the Nepali capital Kathmandu, near the border with China's Tibet Autonomous Region in the Himalayas.

The Bhotekoshi River in the Rasuwa district overflowed Wednesday, inundating nearby villages and damaging homes, roads and hydropower facilities.