A devastating landslide-triggered flood has torn through the Himalayas, leaving nearly 1,500 people missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet.
With rescuers still searching, could the disaster’s toll climb even higher?
At least 165 people are feared dead, while Nepalese authorities say hundreds of foreigners remain unaccounted for.
The hardest-hit areas sit along a popular route connecting Tibet with Kathmandu.
It is used by trekkers and pilgrims travelling toward the sacred Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.
What caused the catastrophe? Early reports pointed to an earthquake.
Rescue Efforts Intensify
But the U.S. Geological Survey later determined that the seismic signal came from collapsing glacial rock and ice, followed by a massive debris flow.
Chinese authorities have also warned that a nearby dammed lake could pose another danger.
Survivors describe an overwhelming wall of mud, rocks and water.
Keshav Prasad Baral recalled trying to save his wife as the flood entered their home. She was swept away.
More than 5,000 Nepalese soldiers and police have joined the rescue effort, while helicopters deliver food and emergency supplies.
With entire settlements reportedly flattened. The challenge is no longer simply finding survivors, it is reaching places the disaster has almost erased.
