At least 133 Indian nationals are among hundreds of people reported missing after a sudden flashflood tore through Nepal’s Rasuwa district along the Tibet border on Wednesday, killing at least 72 persons across seven districts and triggering a massive cross-border rescue operation.

The figures remained fluid as communications were disrupted across the remote Himalayan region and rescue teams struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas. Nepal’s Tourism Board said of nearly 500 missing persons, 403 were tourists, including 341 foreign nationals and 62 Nepalese. Indians constituted the largest group among the missing foreign travellers, with the latest preliminary count putting the number at 133. At least 37 NRIs are also among those missing.

The death toll also rose sharply. Nepal’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported 72 deaths across seven districts, with bodies recovered in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahu and Nawalparasi East....