KATHMANDU — Nepalese authorities have arrested 29 individuals after a heavy bank vault washed downstream by catastrophic flash floods was broken into and looted along a riverbank in Dhading district.
The extraordinary incident unfolded in the aftermath of a glacial outburst that triggered widespread flooding and landslides across several northern regions. Swollen by torrential rains and glacial melt, the Bhote Koshi River swept the massive metal vault away from its original location in Rasuwa district. The heavy safe eventually drifted into the Trishuli River before grounding near Belkhukhola, situated in Ward 4 of Galchi Rural Municipality.
Upon discovering the grounded vault, local residents reportedly used heavy tools to breach its reinforced casing and extract the cash inside. Dhading District Police dispatched an emergency unit to the scene shortly after receiving intelligence regarding the ongoing looting.
A swift series of raids led to the detention of 29 suspects aged between 19 and 49. Officers recovered 9,268,505 Nepalese rupees (approximately 7.5 million BDT) from their possession. Most of the detainees reside in Masta village within the Galchi region, alongside several inhabitants from Adamghat and Siddhatek’s Adamtar. Other suspects originating from Chitwan and Parsa districts were also taken into custody at the site. Investigators are verifying the exact financial institution to which the safe belonged while working to trace any additional individuals involved in the theft.
In a separate criminal inquiry linked to the natural disaster, police arrested two men accused of robbing the dead. The arrests followed the public circulation of a video showing the suspects removing gold earrings from the body of a female victim floating in the Narayani River.
The looting incidents highlight the lawlessness emerging in isolated pockets as Nepal grapples with the fallout of unprecedented severe weather. According to the latest figures released by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority on Saturday, the confirmed death toll from the floods and landslides has climbed to 669.
Search and rescue efforts remain hampered by destroyed roads and severed communications across remote valleys. The official count of missing Nepalese citizens rose dramatically overnight from 1,924 to 2,426 as district authorities established contact with previously cut-off villages. Meanwhile, the number of missing foreign nationals remains unchanged at 517. Disaster response teams, backed by military personnel, continue search operations across affected river basins, three days after the initial floodwaters inundated the country.
