Nepal is facing what officials have described as ‘devastation beyond imagination’ after a ‘tsunami from the sky’ swept through the Rasuwa region yesterday following a glacier collapse, with thousands feared dead.

Nepal’s disaster agency said 823 people, including 579 tourists from Nepal and abroad, remained out of contact. 33 UK nationals are amongst those missing. 

Bishal Nath Upreti, an academic in the Department of Geology at Tribhuvan University, described it as ‘one of the largest disasters in Nepal’, saying the collapse unleashed a 100 to 200-metre-high ‘tsunami from the sky’ and around 20 million cubic metres of excess water.

In Tibet, meanwhile, Chinese state media described the event as a ‘mudslide disaster’ which killed three people, while 558 people, including 260 foreigners, were missing.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development has since released a detailed assessment of the disaster, with experts warning that the disaster could trigger a second flooding event, with vast amounts of debris washed into the region’s river systems potentially creating dangerous blockages.

Experts are assessing whether the Trishuli River has been temporarily blocked at narrow sections. If so, the blockage could form a landslide dam and create the risk of another major flood.

06:54

PICTURED: Devastation in Nepal after ‘tsunami from the sky’ destroys entire settlements

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07:02

WATCH: Desperate hunt for survivors after apocalyptic floods hit Nepal

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06:58

Desperate families crowd Kathmandu hospital as they search for missing loved ones

Anxious relatives crowded the corridors of a Kathmandu hospital Thursday as they searched for missing family.

As rescue teams scoured for survivors in the flood-ravaged districts, families moved between hospitals and police helpdesks, desperately hoping for word on those missing.

Among them was Subash Khatani, scanning lists and speaking to officials in the hope of finding news of his elder brother, one of the hundreds unaccounted for after the disaster.

‘My elder brother Ram Sharan Rasaili is among those missing in Rasuwa. That’s why we are out searching for him,’ Khatani said.

Chitra Bahadur Nepali was looking for his nephew Yubraj Sewak, a driver who had been travelling towards the worst-affected Rasuwa district before contact was lost.

‘My nephew was on his way to Rasuwa and was in contact with my sister until about 8:00 am yesterday,’ Nepali, 52, said, showing his photograph on his phone.

‘We have not heard from him since the flood. His name is not on any of the lists we have seen, and another member of our family is also missing.’

The Bir hospital said it would treat all victims for free and was ‘fully prepared’ to handle the surge in patients, local media reported.

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