Two arrested in Nepal over alleged theft of earrings from flood victim

Nepal police have arrested two men accused of stealing gold earrings from the body of a woman swept into the Narayani River during catastrophic flooding, after a 41-second video of the alleged incident went viral on social media.

Nepal Police later reshared the video and said the two men had been taken into custody for stealing earrings from the ears of the dead woman.

The incident occurred amid rescue efforts following devastating flash floods and landslides along the Nepal-Tibet border, which have killed at least 392 people and left more than 1,400 missing, according to the information provided by authorities and media reports.

Video shows men removing earrings

The footage shows at least two men pulling the body of a woman from the water using wooden planks and her hair. They then remove earrings from both of her ears and place them aside.

Several men and women can be seen surrounding the body, with some recording the incident on their mobile phones.

The video triggered widespread condemnation on social media, with users expressing outrage over the alleged looting of a flood victim.India Today said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the video or the circumstances surrounding the woman's death.

Nepal Police said in a post on X that the individuals involved in stealing earrings from the deceased woman's body had been taken into custody. 

Police identify and arrest suspects

Chitwan Police said its investigation found that the incident involved a dead body that had been swept into the Narayani River by the massive flood.

Based on the video, police identified the suspects as 25-year-old Madan Gurung and 38-year-old Umesh Chaudhary.

The two men were arrested near Pokhara Bus Park in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-1 on Thursday, Nepal's media portal Khabarhub reported, citing police.

Police stressed that looting or any other form of inhumane activity targeting victims would not be tolerated during the crisis.

Flood disaster leaves hundreds dead

The arrests came as Nepal continued to deal with one of its deadliest flood disasters in years.

Rescue teams have been wading through mud and searching for more than 1,400 people reported missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border. Entire villages were swept away, while the death toll rose sharply to at least 392.

India Today reported that the floods in Nepal and Tibet had killed nearly 400 people, with 1,468 others still missing on both sides of the border.

Hundreds of people have also been left stranded, including Indian nationals. India is racing to trace 290 citizens who remain unaccounted for as rescue teams struggle to reach affected areas because of destroyed roads, washed-away bridges and large piles of mud and debris.

Mudslide engulfs Tibet border crossing

On the Tibet side of the border, a major mudslide that struck on Wednesday engulfed a multi-storey port building and swallowed a bus parking area at the Gyirong Port land border crossing.

Mud surrounding the area was more than 1.5 metres (5 feet) deep on average.

Roads leading to the crossing were damaged, while CCTV warned that secondary collapses or landslides could occur as rain continued in the area.

Authorities were also closely monitoring a newly formed barrier lake that was rapidly filling, raising fears of another potentially devastating surge downstream.