Reuters was able to identify the lake’s location, which straddles the border of both countries and lies upstream from the Gyirong border crossing, based on Nepali authorities and Chinese state media.

Wednesday’s flash flood devastated the border crossing, sweeping away people and vehicles, according to China’s CCTV.

China had been racing to reduce the risk of more flooding at the border crossing linking its Tibet region to Nepal, after hundreds were killed on Wednesday.

On Friday morning, the risk of the lake bursting and potential secondary disasters such as mountain collapses and avalanches prompted all Chinese rescue personnel and vehicles to withdraw to stand by in a safe area, state broadcaster CCTV said.

By noon, the risk posed was deemed manageable, allowing rescue operations to be continued and stepped up, CCTV reported.