SPANIARDS and Brits are among more than 1,300 people missing after a devastating flash flood killed at least 177 at the border between Nepal and Tibet.
Madrid has confirmed four Spanish nationals remain unaccounted for as rescuers scour both sides of the border for survivors, with 826 still missing in Nepal and 558 in Tibet, China.
At least 736 of those missing are foreign tourists, Nepalese and Chinese authorities said, including 33 Brits, 65 Americans and 35 Australians.
Authorities launched their search for survivors after a gigantic wall of mud and water came roaring through the Trishuli River valley on Wednesday morning, flattening homes and swamping roads on both sides of the border.
Terrifying video shows people and birds fleeing as the avalanche crashes into a border port in Gyirong, southern Tibet, shortly before 11am local time.
Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal’s army, said more than 5,000 army and police personnel were combing the area for survivors.
Basnet added that rescuers were able to save 125 people on Thursday, including 20 foreigners.
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Countries and organisations – including the EU, US, India, South Korea, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Red Cross – have also pledged to send aid to the area.
Local police, however, told Reuters the death toll was likely to rise in the coming hours.
Early analysis suggests the flood may have been triggered by the lower part of a glacier collapsing in the Himalayas and slamming into the valley floor below.
The Nepali foreign minister said he believed the disaster was caused by a 4.4-magnitude earthquake registered in the area by the US Geological Survey, though scientists have dismissed the hypothesis.
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