On 27/8, Mr. Brijmohan, a police officer with the Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Response Force in northern India, reported the discovery of three bodies – two women and one man – in the Gandak River within Maharajganj district. The river's water level is high and has overflowed its banks following severe flooding in Nepal.

The bodies were covered in mud. Local media sources indicated that Indian Border Security Force (SSB) soldiers found the bodies floating near border posts during a patrol. Rescue teams used motorboats to retrieve the bodies, transporting them to the morgue at the district headquarters.

Bodies found in the Gandak River in Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh state, India on 27/8. Photo: NDTV

SSB Inspector Arun Pandey stated that floodwaters from Nepal likely swept the three bodies nearly 150 km down the Gandak River. Local authorities have contacted their Nepalese counterparts, providing identification details to help locate the victims' families.

In response to rising river levels surpassing alert thresholds, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered continuous monitoring of all embankments along the border. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed along the riverbanks in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh, as well as in neighboring Bihar state, to search for more victims and address potential overflow risks.

Nepal police reported on 28/8 that 48 hours after the disaster, devastating floods in the border region with China had claimed at least 469 lives. Earlier, Chinese state media confirmed three fatalities, raising the total death toll to at least 472. Nearly 1,500 people remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners.

Huyen Le (According to CNN, New Indian Express)