Rescue teams waded through mud yesterday searching for more than 1 400 people missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal border, as the death toll rose sharply to at least 362, with entire villages swept away.
A glacier collapse in Tibet on Wednesday sent a wall of water and debris through Nuwakot district on Nepal's northern border, wiping out villages, roads and bridges.
The missing includes foreign nationals from South Africa, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Australia, as well as Nepali citizens linked to nine trekking agencies.
The number of South Africans missing has risen to at least six, the country's tourism board said.
Authorities in Nepal have cautioned that the death toll figure is preliminary and does not necessarily mean all those listed are confirmed casualties. Many people are believed to be stranded in remote mountain areas without communication, while officials continue verifying who has been safely accounted for.
