San Francisco Frontiers - Nepal seeking to reach survivors in tunnel as risk of new floods rises

Emergency teams have recovered 472 bodies after a tsunami-like wall of freezing water and mud crashed down on Wednesday, burying homes, smashing bridges and sweeping away vehicles in both Nepal and Tibet.

More than 1,400 people are missing, including trekkers in the Himalayas and scores of Hindu pilgrims to Tibet's sacred snow-capped Mount Kailash.

The US Geological Survey said the disaster -- the deadliest for Nepal since a 2015 earthquake -- was caused by a glacial collapse that triggered a vast flow of icy debris.

Climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risks of glacial lake floods and glacial collapses.

Emergency teams were racing to retrieve survivors from affected zones, as the threat of new flooding grew.

The Nepali military was seeking to reach people trapped in the tunnel of Trishuli 3A hydropower project, army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP.

"Two helicopters have been dispatched but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel," he said.

Some 350 workers and residents have been brought to safety from the tunnel, he added, but efforts were ongoing to extract more than 100 people trapped in the same area.

The emergency workers were labouring under threat of new floods as water trapped by the immense piles of debris blocking the valley risks surging out.

China paused its rescue operation at the hardest-hit part of Tibet over renewed risks of flooding, state media said.

A lake formed by immense piles of debris after a mudslide hit the China-Nepal border has begun overflowing towards the Gyirong border area that rescue teams were headed, state broadcaster CCTV said.

"All rescue teams have been ordered to stand by in place and wait for further instructions," it said.

Emergency teams which had earlier accessed the area "have been ordered to withdraw one kilometre (0.6 miles)", the broadcaster added.

Kathmandu's Flood Forecasting Division had separately issued a "special notice" warning of a growing lake behind debris left by the landslide.

- 'Washed away' -

Survivors in a makeshift Nepali hospital endured an agonising wait for news of their missing loved ones.

Kula Priya, whose eldest son is missing, said she had lost everything when the deluge hit.

"I don't care for wealth. I just want my son back. If any of you could rescue my son, please do it for me," she said.

"I don't know where to go. We had three houses, all of which were washed away by the floods."

Nepali police have reported a death toll of 469 people.

In India, authorities said they had recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be flood victims.

There are 910 people, including 517 foreign tourists, who are out of contact in Nepal. Indians make up the largest number of missing foreigners, while the United States said 90 of its citizens were out of contact.

Across the border in Tibet -- where the only sources of information are Chinese authorities -- officials say hundreds are missing and three died.

Authorities also said they had evacuated 555 stranded tourists and 499 Chinese residents from Tibet.

Scores of Hindu devotees from across the world are among those missing on the border, as many were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash on the Chinese side.

Raman said the travel agency told her the last contact with the group of 17 Malaysians was on Wednesday morning, when they were travelling towards the Nepal-China border.

The flood crashed into the area where they were last contacted soon after.

"I'm very anxious," she told AFP. "My only hope is to hear back from them that they are safe."

burs/hmn

D.Robinson--SFF