India news: India steps up efforts as hundreds missing in Nepal floods

India steps up efforts as hundreds missing in Nepal floods August 27, 2026What you need to know - Nepal's Foreign Minister says 300 Indian tourists are among the missing - Most were pilgrims on Mansarovar Yatra - India sends 10 metric tons of disaster-relief supplies to Nepal - US panel on religious freedom urges government to place sanctions on RSS members Here are the biggest headlines coming out of India on Thursday, August 27: Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click here to add us as a Preferred Source on Google. Then tap the "Star" or "Preferred" to keep DW News at the top of your feed. India sends more aid to Nepal while disaster personnel on standby India has dispatched a second tranche of relief supplies to flood-affected Nepal on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said. "A second flight has just taken off, carrying 37.5 tonnes of HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) material, medicines and food packets for Nepal," he said in a post on X, accompanied by a video which showed the material being loaded onto a military aircraft. On Wednesday, India had sent 10 tonnes of aid material, including essential medicines. However, no disaster relief team has been sent to sites so far, India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) IG Narendra Singh Bundela said in a press conference on Thursday morning. "At present, no NDRF team has been sent to Nepal. Teams have been kept on standby. If a request is received from the Nepal government and the Government of India decides accordingly, an NDRF team will be sent," several media outlets reported him saying. Indian Embassies in Nepal and China said they had set up helplines for information on Indian nationals impacted by the floods. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with his Nepali counterpart Balendra Shah on Wednesday to express condolences on the lives lost. "India is prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance. Our teams are closely coordinating on rescue and relief efforts," he had said in a post on X. Over 170 Indians missing in Nepal-Tibet floods More than 170 Indians were unaccounted for in the Nepal-Tibet flash floods, Nepal's tourism officials said on Thursday, as Indian authorities coordinated with their Nepalese counterparts on rescue and relief efforts. Nepal's police and tourism officials said that of the 800 tourists missing in the country, 177 were from India. Meanwhile, Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal on Thursday said that over 300 Indian tourists were missing. He was speaking to journalists from Indian news channel NDTV World at the Anviksha Summit in Kathmandu. "Foreign nationals, including Indians, take the route in the affected area to the Mansarovar Yatra. Close to 300 Indians have been reported missing and the government is trying to establish contact with them," Khanal said. Kailash Mansarovar is a high-altitude site in China's Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists. At least 165 people have died in the flash floods which occurred at the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday. Over 1,300 were missing in both Nepal and Tibet. Nepal's police authorities have said they expect the death toll to rise. Several Indian states have reported that dozens of their residents were among those missing in Nepal, as per local media reports. Verified videos of the disaster showed massive masses of debris-laden water sweeping away dozens of people at various locations. The disaster has washed away homes and villages. Welcome to our coverage Hello! This is Mahima Kapoor from DW's Studio Delhi, bringing you the latest from across India. More than 130 Indians are among the hundreds missing in Nepal's flash floods in what is being described as the country's worst disaster in years. The flood was triggered on Wednesday when an Avalanche reportedly blocked the flow of a tributary of the Bhotekoshi river. The river water swept away locals, pilgrims, proterties and whole villages in minutes. India's central and state governments have sprung into action to account for their missing, coordinate information and send aid to the affected areas. Meanwhile in the national capital, a student-led protest over an alleged suicide at the country's premier technology institute has entered its fourth day. In other news, a US panel on religious freedom has urged the US government to consider targeted sanctions against the chief of a right-wing Hindu nationalist group closely associated with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The panel's recommendation came days before the said chief is scheduled to speak at a private event in New York City's Madison Square Garden, which NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he opposes. Stay tuned for all of this and more!