Nepal flash flood live updates: search on for hundreds missing near Tibet border as officials warn death toll could rise higher

A glacial collapse caused seismic activity and “catastrophic” downstream impacts in Nepal and Tibet, the US Geological Survey is saying.

Seismic activity initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow” that “caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream”, the agency said on Thursday, quoted by Agence France-Presse.

Authorities in Nepal and Tibet have said they fear the death toll from catastrophic flooding could be much higher than ۱۶۰ people already killed, as search and rescue efforts to locate the hundreds missing continue.

A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, triggering the flash flood which washed away houses, roads and border crossings.

Verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides ⁠fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction.

Officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” after a mudslide hit a border land crossing in the county of Gyirong.

As darkness fell, authorities continued the grim task of recovering ‌and trying to identify bodies.

Nepal police said ۱۵۷ bodies had been recovered ‌so far. Three people were reported killed on the Tibet side of the body.

Initial reports from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake in the area could have caused the lower part of a glacier to collapse and trigger the floods. The USGS later said the tremor recorded at the time was caused ​by the glacial rock and ice collapsing to the valley floor.

Here’s what else is happening:

• Rescue teams are rushing on Thursday to find hundreds of people missing after the flood and landslides killed at least ۱۶۰ people. Many of the missing were foreign tourists, officials said.

• Nepali police said they had recovered ۱۵۷ bodies after “devastating floods”, with officers working to move families in flood-risk areas to safety. Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet border hub, reporting three dead and another ۲۶۵ missing. The overall death toll appears likely to rise.

• Tibet government officials mobilised nearly ۸۰۰ emergency workers and ۱۵۰ vehicles as well as sniffer dogs and speed boats to help the rescue efforts, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.

• At least ۴۰۳ tourists – ۳۴۱ of them foreigners – were unaccounted for several hours after the disaster struck on Wednesday morning, according to Nepal’s tourism ministry. The missing foreigners included ۱۴۲ Indians, ۳۳ from the UK, ۴۷ from the US, ۳۴ from Australia and ۲۴ from Canada as well as others from South Korea, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Portugal and South Africa, the tourism board said. Nine ⁠South Koreans ⁠were missing, the country’s foreign ministry said.

• At least ۲۸ Nepal police officials were missing, a police spokesperson said.

• Entire villages and markets were “wiped out”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. It was dispatching emergency supplies including blankets, first aid kits, stretchers and body bags.

• United Nations chief António Guterres said UN ⁠teams ​and ‌partners ‌were ‌mobilising supplies and personnel in Nepal ‌to support affected communities.

• Surveillance video from the Chinese side of the border showed a raging wall of mud and debris crashing over a building several storeys high, engulfing it as dozens of people flee for their lives below. The surge sweeps away buses and cars.

• Experts warned that a lingering blockage upstream on the Nepal-China border river could produce a second flood.

• The cause of the flooding was not immediately clear. Nepalese foreign minister Shishir Khanal said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, which in turn blocked a river, sending water gushing downstream. Nepal’s disaster authority said satellite data indicated a “snow-rock landslide” on the Nepal-China border may have caused the flood. Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.

• Chinese leader Xi Jinping said “the most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people”, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

• The US Geological Survey first reported a magnitude-۴.۴ earthquake early on Wednesday, about ۶۶km (۴۱ miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border. It later updated to call the shaking a ۵.۲-magnitude landslide.