More than 150 people are dead after a flash flood hit the Nepal-Tibet border earlier on Wednesday, affecting an area popular with pilgrims and trekkers.
Over 500 tourists are missing in Nepal, including more than 100 from India, 54 from the US, 33 from the UK, and more than 100 from Nepal itself.
In Tibet, at least three people have been killed and 265 are missing, according to Chinese state media.
Authorities initially thought an earthquake caused the flooding, but it is now believed that a landslide triggered the seismic activity.
The entire nation is "shocked and deeply distressed", says Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah. One trekking guide in Nepal's Rasuwa region tells the BBC he is praying his missing sister will be found alive.
Dramatic video footage shows thick brown water surging through the landscape, splitting bridges in two and leaving destruction in its wake.
At the Gyirong border crossing, CCTV footage shows people running for their lives before a wall of water slams into the building.
The number of casualties could continue to climb over the coming days, as the true scale of the disaster emerges.
Source: BBC
-Agencies
