Nepal flood disaster: 157 dead and hundreds still missing VIDEO

At least 157 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal and another three in Tibet, the Associated Press reported, citing local authorities, as search-and-rescue operations continued in areas devastated by sudden flooding and landslides.

Rescue efforts have been severely hampered by destroyed roads and bridges, as well as disruptions to communications, making it difficult for emergency teams to reach some of the worst-affected areas.

According to the Nepalese government, 484 tourists remain unaccounted for, including 391 foreign nationals. The Russian Embassy in Nepal said at least four Russian citizens were in the disaster zone and that contact with them had been lost.

Nepalese authorities also reported that 85 military and police personnel and about 60 employees at hydropower facilities were missing.

On the Chinese side of the border, authorities in Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region reported 265 people missing. Taken together, the number of people whose whereabouts remain unknown in Nepal and Tibet could be approaching 900.

Nepal’s Rasuwa district has been among the areas hardest hit. Torrents of water and mud destroyed homes, roads and bridges and damaged energy infrastructure with a capacity of about 430 megawatts.

Rasuwa is also located along a route used by tourists and pilgrims travelling toward Mount Kailash.

In Tibet, a mudslide damaged the Gyirong border crossing, disrupting road links, electricity supplies and communications.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered large-scale search-and-rescue operations and instructed authorities to evacuate people from areas considered at risk.

An earlier preliminary assessment suggested that the sudden flooding may have been triggered by a collapse of ice and rock that blocked the Lhende River in Nepal, causing a large volume of water to surge down the valley.

Ukraine has also reported missing nationals. “53 Ukrainians are listed as missing,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters, citing data from Nepalese police.

By Tamilla Hasanova